A Little Bitty Donald

I made this little guy for my boss (at the job that pays me...not the bead shop, since that would be me) for his birthday since he is a huge fan of Donald Duck.  The pattern came from a Japanese book that I don't know the title to--not sure if I got the beak quite right, but he's so sweet.  About 3" tall.  The Boss loved him and was so excited that he actually received something that I made.

Hope you enjoy.  I have a customer who's requested a Minnie Mouse...I have a book coming and hope that I can create her as well. 

Enjoy and Bead Happy!

Michelle

The Cooking is Finally done

I have to say that except for a few parts, my necklace was finished almost a week ago.  The earrings earlier this week (except for the ear wires which I just made).  I did just finish the bracelet last night.  I'm normally a silver, sparkly girl, but I've been really getting into MATTE gold.  I love the softness of the finish.  And then pair that with watery blues and rich browns?  You had me at matte. 

Thank you to our hostess with the most-est...the lovely Lori Anderson.  She's set out to host this GINORMOUS blog hop party with 362 participants.  Thank you for all the work, Lori!  I was paired with the lovely Fiona from England.  I opened the package and was so excited to see all the possibilities...there was so much to work with.  Thank you Fiona!  Your goodies made me sit down and PLAY--normally I work, work, work--so this was a lovely treat!

The big reveal.....

I made 4 pieces of jewelry and still have many beads left over.  I usually don't work with crosses...but this one will now have special meaning.  More on that a bit later in the post. 

There was a LOT of little tiny links to make.  I used red brass, steel wire and bronze wires.  Of course I had to use bits of my lovely matte gold chain. 

I whipped this bracelet up using .5mm gold leather.  It makes a very light weight but sturdy base to the bracelet. 

I had to make earrings.  I'm such an earring girl and with my short hair, I love to show off big earrings.  Can't wait to wear these. 

OK..why the cross and the necklace will have a special place in my heart....Tuesday I went in for my biopsy.  It's the 1st surgery that I've had since I had my wisdom teeth removed as a teenager.  I received my results on Friday, the 1st day I wore the necklace.  Great news!  No cancer!  I will still have to have a full hysterectomy in a short while, but at least no cancer was found.  I'm thankful that after all the time of talking to doctors, that someone finally listened to me.  I found that I'm in the 4th stage of hyperplasia--which has a 30% chance of turning to cancer.  So the big surgery is a preventative measure.  I'm OK with that.  I don't have children (I have the shop and a four-legged kid) and if I do, one day feel that I need to be a mother, I can adopt.  Thanks for reading all that...but that necklace will hold a special place for me.

Please visit all the other bloggers who are participating in the Bead Soup Party!

Please Click on the link to visit our hostess's website to view the full list.  Click on each participants name to view their completed projects.

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/

Many hugs and much joy....

Michelle

Beady Soup Goodness

I've been a bad bead soup party partner!  I received my lovely beads from Fiona of Christals Creations and took my pictures but didn't send out a post.  I did work on my finished piece over Labor Day weekend--yes, I did play instead of work which is what I do every weekend.  Those beads were just calling out to me.  I haven't worked on it since then, but it is almost complete!  I will finish it on Sunday. 

Miss Fiona sent me a lovely stash from England.  I love the watery blues that she send me and started to formulate my plan.....I'm please with the pieces...yes, I did say pieces--that I've created so far.  I've got 5 pieces in the works and will still have lots of beads left over from this bundle of goodness.

On Tuesday, I'd appreciate some good vibes sent my way.  I'll be having a minor surgery...my 1st surgery since I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was 15.  This will then be followed up by the big surgery sometime in October.  I will be out of commission for about 2-6 weeks.  My surgery will help me, but will throw me into instant menopause.  I guess if I'm going to get hot flashes, I'll start getting them when it's cold outside...LOL.  I'm in good spirits, but if you think of me on the 13th, send me lots of positive thoughts and light.

Bead Happy,
Michelle

Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party

I'm late (almost late) for a very important DATE! My partner, Fiona Christie, is getting her package shipped out tomorrow. The lovely Lori Anderson is hosting another Bead Soup Blog Party. There are a whopping 362 participants this go round. Hope you visit as many of us as you can when the big reveal date rolls around on September 17.

I hope Fiona likes her ingredients. I had fun picking them out! Have you visited the other blogs yet to get a sneak peek of what they've sent to their partners.

Many Hugs!
Michelle

Drumroll Please......

Whew!  It's been a VERY long time since my last post.  I won't make the excuse that I've been busy because everyone is busy.  I haven't been up to snuff so between running the shop and working my other job I've just been plain old exhausted after 5 years of 70 to 90 hour work weeks.  I have some more medical tests going on this upcoming week and I'm hoping that what they find may help solve some of my physical problems and get me creating again. 

Ok, enough about me personally and on to the BEADS!  I do have some very exciting news to share and if you have a subscription to Bead and Button magazine, you will have already seen my project.  I made the cover (just a small corner, but the cover) after submitting my very 1st stitching piece to the publication. 

Yep, that's me up there on the left.  I have totally fallen in love with Tilas and this idea just popped into my head at the paying job.  I'm fortunate that I have a boss who is accepting of the few minutes it takes me to sketch out my ideas on sticky notes! 

I hope that all has been well in Blogland.  I have lots to catch up on in the blogosphere and it may take me awhile!

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle

I'm so EXCITED!

It's that time of year....Lori Anderson of Pretty Things is hosting her wonderful Bead Soup Blog Part!  Yippee!  I'm so Excited...and I just can't hide it.... (can you tell I'm channelling the Pointer Sisters?)

The countdown begins....  Check out Lori's blog post to see the list to date!  It's a HUGE list!
Bead Happy!
Michelle

She's Copying Me......

Holy jumping jelly beans!  It's been such a long time since my last post....I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  August was a busy month preparing to do our annual inventory at the shop--can you imagine????--4 days of counting every last bag and bead.  Only with the crystals did we get antsy...we have about 600-700 containers of crystals that were counted since we sell our crystals by the piece.  Ok..maybe the jump rings were a pain too!

September saw us doing a lot of yard work--ripping out the vegetable garden and starting to cut back all of the flower beds.  The end of the month we started with the LEAVES...and we're still working on those.

This month has seen us working on making our own Pumpkins, Acorns and Candy Corns and Pumpkin Pie slices out of polymer clay.

Now on to the main feature.....  A few weeks ago Gaea had a post about copying projects.  She randomly picked 5 people to send out 3 of her lovely beads to "copy" a project she made.

This is her project which the five of us were to copy.  I have to say...that this is the 1st time that I've seen Gaea's beads in person...and photographs do not do her beads justice!  They're so luscious! 

Ok...here it is.  My version of Gaea's bracelet.  I made a necklace and wanted to make it long enough to wear with cowl-neck sweaters this winter.   I made the pendant using 24g sheet copper and ran it through the Cuddlebug.  The folder has an art nouveau swirl pattern.  I hammered out part of the design.  I then dabbed on white acrylic paint and then dabbed on alcohol inks and got the perfect color to match with Gaea's beads.  I then sanded off some of the ink to let the copper show through.  I stamped in the word "Dream" and then filled in a bit with Enamel Gel pens.  The neck strap is copper chain, Czech glass, bone beads and dyed red quartz rondelles.  These are all knotted onto an aqua cord on one side with a smattering of the red on the opposite side.  I love this triangle chain...it's light yet chunky.  The little drop on the bottom incorporates the little red rondelles and a dyed crackled quartz briolette.  All of the beads are from my personal stash while the chain is from the shop.

I loved doing this challenge since it's something that I try to teach my customers...use your imagination--you do not have to have the exact beads or components to make something that is in a magazine or a book...it is all about inspiration.

I hope that everyone had fun creating their pieces. 
Please visit Gaea's blog for the list of the other participants and their creations!

Bead Happy!
Michelle