Beading, etc...

Even though I have not been posting as much as I have in the past - I HAVE been beading and creating.

Some of the photos were beginning to pile up!

Earlier this year, I finished this pair of earrings. I started with a pair of adorable unakite scarabs and beaded around the little cabs.



The largest seed bead used here is a size 12/0. Also used (in the dangle) - a couple of unakite beads and two Swarovski crystal bicones.



They are backed with green Ultrasuede and were given away to a fund raising auction.



Another project completed earlier this year - my new check book cover. I admit I still use checks - probably more often than many, but I'm old school like that.



It was expertly hand tooled by J (my significant other) and laced by ME! My first lacing attempt and while it was tedious learning this stitch - I was thrilled to get it completed. Click on the photos for detailed close ups.

I hope everyone is enjoying the end of fall and is ready for winter!

More posts/photos coming soon...

Beading For A Cure 2011...

Are you ready for some GREAT auctions? Well then - set your alerts, alarms, reminders... whatever you have. The auctions begin March 21 - 3:00 pm Eastern time and there are some fantastic items up for the first round! All for a good cause too (colorectal cancer research).

Here is the link to the auctions, bid high and often! Here is the link for each round of auctions with photos and dates they will be auctioned. I also have a badge up on the right side of my blog that is a direct link to the EBay auctions. If you want to take some time and see all the great photos for each item that will come up for auction this year - you can check the gallery. There are wonderful close up photos of each piece. If you want to print off a flyer for the auctions, that is also available here.

This is the fourth year I have participated in the annual event and the first year there was a competition. I was notified last week that my entry won second place - I was shocked. You will see what I mean when you have a chance to see all the beautiful entries. I am honored to be a winner amongst so many incredible bead artists and their pieces.

Each participant is given the same kit of beads. We are required to use at least one of each bead in the kit, we are allowed to add one additional bead type and can incorporate as many non bead items as we like - such as cabochons and sequins.

Here is my photo of the beads for this year provided in the kit

As you can see, it is a beautiful selection of purple and bronze. I loved working with these colors! My first step was to go through my stash to see what I wanted to add, if anything.

I found these beautiful vintage bronze/brownish faceted cabs, I only had two - I used both of them. I also found these smaller glass cabs with purple and bronze. I had four and used them all. It seems I cannot bead anything with out adding sequins. Vintage are my favorites and while I do not have many left, I did find this wonderful strand of deep purple sequins. My added bead is a small purple/brownish bugle.


The items of mine together with the kit led me to make this cuff. Once I get the big cab glued on, the rest seem to just flow. I did not have a plan, I let the beads take me where they wanted to go.



I used Nicole's bead backing in light purple as my base. When the beading was completed, I sandwiched a brass cuff blank between the bead backing and light purple Ultrasuede and stitched it up with LOTS of those beautiful crystal bicones.



I was going to just make a cuff, but that hardly seemed fair since I still had a ton of beads left from the kit.



So I found that last brown faceted glass cab and worked up a brooch.



That's when I discovered I had more of the smaller cabs and still plenty of beads from the kit so thought a pair of earrings would be the perfect addition to complete the set.



Little did I know at the time that would make me a...


I am stunned and honored!

2011 One World One Heart... it's time!

***Update*** We have winners - 5 in all, and each have been contacted.

The winners and their prizes as follows:

Winner #1 - Susan of Living the dream - pearl earrings
Winner #2 - Anne of Gaal Creative - white givre brooch
Winner #3 - Angelika of Toscania-art-life - pink zipper pull/key fob
Winner #4 - Peggy of Peggy apl SEEDS - red paua earrings
Winner #5 - Diane of My Art Journal - sunny flower face brooch

Congratulations to all the winners!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is time for the fifth and final One World One Heart event. A fun filled WORLD wide event connecting bloggers and others everywhere!

You can blog hop and visit various countries a long the way, maybe meet your new best friend. Added bonus... GIVEAWAYS of all types!

A little about me - I am a mother, a grand mother and a beader. I am a transplant, originally from Southern California, now living in Northeastern Indiana. I have come to discover that I really do not like winter in this part of the country, but I do like a whole lot about this place I now call home. I am geographically close to my family, that is most important - I am happy to weather the cold for that privilege, because I love being near them and being able to spend lots of time with them. But, oh how I long for a warm breeze, mountains and an ocean within driving distance! Especially this time of year.

The One World One Heart event comes at the perfect time for me. It brightens my spirit to have so many visitors that share their thoughts and a little glimpse into their world by way of a comment. And it is always fun to give away my beaded treasures.

This is my fourth year participating and I thought it would be nice to honor each of the 5 years of the event with an item for each year.

The requirements to win are pretty easy - you MUST be an active blogger and you have to leave a comment on this post with a link back to your blog. That is it. Easy, right?

I will notify the winners via email or by way of a comment on your blog in the event your email address is not obvious to me.

As I stated earlier I am a beader, and as such - my items are bead related. I find stress relief and a certain sense of peace when I bead.

Here are the items up for grabs -

Pearl earrings accented with Swarovski crystals for lots of sparkle



A fob, a zipper pull, a dangly thing - whatever you want to call it. It is real flowers encased in resin, embellished with glass beads. More info and photos of this can be found in the blog post just prior to this one - so just scroll down to find it.



Red Paua shell earrings are next up. They are embellished with various glass beads and a Swarovski bead accent in each earring.



The paua shell cab measures 18mm before the beads were added.



They are backed with soft black Ultrasuede.



Next I have a brooch that started with an 18mm vintage, rare white givre crystal cabochon with a white cloud of color swirled inside. The sparkly beauty of the cab is so much prettier in person. I could not capture it accurately with a camera.



It is surrounded with glass beads and Swarovski crystals - for even more sparkle! The beautiful cab was provided by Betcey from Beyond Beadery. Her online store carries these in white and blue.



It is backed with white Ultrasuede.



Last, but certainly not least is a fun pendant/brooch, in beautiful shades of Spring colors. It started with a flower face cab by Jen Martin of GraphixOutpost. I embellished it with glass seed beads, Czech pressed glass leaf beads and Swarovski crystals.



It is backed with bright yellow Ultrasuede.



The winners will be announced on February 17, so I will take comments up until midnight Eastern Time on February 16. Good luck!

After you are done here, don't forget to click the banner up top for all the rest of the links of the blogs participating in the 2011 One World One Heart event. Oh... and HAVE FUN on your journey!

Rockin' for Rescue...

Recently there was a local fundraiser - Rockin' For Rescue - it is an annual benefit/fund raiser to to benefit animal shelters and rescue/adoption facilities. I was so pleased to see a local fund raiser for animals in need. I would have loved to attend, however the event took place when I was out of town.

I did manage to get a couple of pieces beaded up before I left and donated them for the silent auction.



A pendant/brooch that started with a beautiful Lisa Peters Stoneware shank button. Embellished with brown charlottes, light sapphire Czech pressed glass leaves and brown Swarovski crystals. Makes me think of chocolate and blueberries.



It is backed with chocolate Ultrasuede.

The other item donated - a pair of earrings that started with vintage deep blue faceted flat backs.



Anchored and bezeled with silver colored delica beads, size 11/0 blue seeds beads and 13/0 sliver colored Charlottes. LOTS of sparkle!



Love the faceted blue glass - the cabs are also foil backed.



They are backed with blue Ultrasuede and the ear wires are sterling silver and further embellished with Swarovski crystals to add even more sparkle.



*Note All photos are clickable for a larger view.

BFAC - Beading For A Cure 2011

Royal Trilogy - that is the name I have given my entries for next year.



This is the main piece - the cuff. It meets the requirement that we use at least one of each bead provided in the kit. I only planned to make a cuff, but because of the generous amount of beads in the kit, with the amount left over after the cuff was completed I was compelled to make more. First - I LOVE the colors this year, they look positively regal to me. Second - with that many beads left in the kit, how could I not add some additional pieces?

Generally, I make pieces that I want or would wear and I do not wear necklaces. That is how I decided on a cuff, a brooch and earrings and not a necklace. There has to be more folks out there like me, right? After finishing the cuff, I found I had a matching faceted cab I could use for the brooch. They are the only two I had in that color and size, it just seemed right they go together.



Next up - earrings. I happened to have a couple extra of the wonderful vintage glass cabs used on the side of the cuff, the colors in those cabs don't show up in great detail on my screen, so you have to trust me when I say they are beautiful.




Here they are all together



Other details - I used a light purple stiffened felt by Nicole Campanella as my base for beading. For the bracelet there is a brass cuff between the bead work and the Ultrasuede backing. The brooch is approximately 2 inches and has a finding that can be used as a pin or a pendant. The earrings are about 1 inch not including the dangle and are finished with 14k gold plated ear wires.

Each piece is backed with soft Ultrasuede in a light purple color.

My added items are pictured below. Brown vintage faceted glass cabs, purple and brown vintage glass cabs, vintage purple sequins and my added bead - a small purple/copper bugle.

Earrings, a pin and a collaboration in progress

I am having the best time! In addition to making pins/brooches for a swap at the Bead Retreat, I beaded up a couple of items for a fund raising auction at work. Seems it's that time of year.



One last (for now) pair of earrings. They just might be my favorites. I've had these vintage German glass cabs for a few years and just love them. They look like Lily of the Valley flowers to me - what do you think?



They are tiny, all beads used are size 15. The ear wires are 14k gold filled and they are backed with brown Ultrasuede



Next, I finished a brooch. I started with a beautiful raku button by Lisa Peters, it has a brown swirl with blue flecks in the background - I love her 'stuff'.



I was having a little issue with glare on the day I snapped the photos, so 2 of them here - between the two of them I think the colors are well represented.



It measures about 2 inches including the outside beads, the dangle adds about another inch. It is backed with brown Ultrasuede.

I'm also working on a beaded pin as part of a collaboration with a couple of friends for a fund raiser for Candlelighters for Children with cancer in Portland. We have worked together on a couple of other quilted/beaded projects and always have a great time doing it. We live in different states (Oregon, Minnesota, Indiana) and manage to coordinate some pretty neat projects, all by email.

My partners... Bobbie in Oregon and Anne in Minnesota, they are sisters and between them have an amazing array of creative talents including (but not limited to) sewing, quilting, painting, knitting, beading, felting and creating pottery. Several years ago, we happened to meet on a volunteer vacation in Eastern Kentucky. I would be remiss if I did not mention Sammie (from Washington) - the woman that completes our circle, she keeps up laughing and very well fed when we are together. I would direct you to photos of their work, but alas - none of them have websites or blogs. They donate the bulk of their creations to a wide range of worthy causes. I'm lucky to call them my friends!

So the project we are working on now began with a large (approx 24 x 45 inches) Laural Burch panel - Secret Jungle. Bobbie will be working some sort of quilt magic and Anne will add her beautiful embroidery to the piece. For my part, Bobbie sent an extra panel of the fabric - I cut out one of the cat faces (I know... it felt so wrong to cut into it) and am working on beading it up and adding a pin back. It will then be attached to the larger piece as a removable/wearable component. The entire piece will be auctioned off at the Harvest of Hope Dinner in Portland, OR on October 24.

While I'm on the topic of kids with cancer, and if you're so inclined - please pray/send positive thoughts for a precious and brave little girl named Regina and her equally brave and precious family. They could use it right now. I don't know them personally, but have been following her blog for quite awhile.

More bead embroidered earrings

At least one, maybe both pair will be offered up in the earring swap at the Bead Retreat in Lake Tahoe.



For this first pair, I used small vintage Lucite cabs and added Czech and Japanese seed beads.



They are backed with dark green Ultrasuede.

Last (for now anyway) ...



Vintage Japanese glass cabs surrounded by gold and purple seed beads, gold ab fire polished beads accent the top.


Click on each photo for a larger view.

They are backed with gold Ultrasuede and measure about 1 1/2 inched from the bottom of the ear wire down.



On another note... have you donated yet to the second round of the Pink Artist project? This round - the quilt is the grand prize - it is an amazing display of artistry. And that's not all, there are an ABUNDANCE of runner up prizes. The raffle runs through October 15, so if you haven't purchased your 'chances' yet there is still time. It's easy, you can send a money order OR you can paypal a donation to Monica.

If nothing else... please check out the photos of the quilt and all the other works of art up for grabs - it's sure to bring a smile.

Bead embroidered earrings

Have I mentioned that I will be attending a Bead Unique Bead Retreat in Lake Tahoe in October? Between this and Facebook, I can't remember what I post where. Anyway, one of the extra curricular activities is an earring swap. I took this as the perfect opportunity to try my hand at making a pair (or more).

Once I got going, I had a hard time taking a break. While the Bead Retreat swap inspired me to make earrings, I have donated both pair in this post for an online auction at work. I have at least 2 others finished for the swap. Will post photos of those soon.



First up, vintage German glass cabs, accented with Czech and Japanese seed beads, clear crystal 3 mm Swarovski bicones around the outside edge.



Backed with a dark green Ultrasuede. Not including the ear wires, these measure 1 1/2 inches



Small Hematite cabs are the focal for the second pair, accented with Japanese and Czech beads as well as black true cut seed beads around the outside edge. They are backed with black Ultrasuede and measure approximately 1 inch (not including the ear wires)