It's Party Time......

Once again it's party time.  The wonderful Lori Anderson of Pretty Things is once again hosting The Bead Soup Blog Party.   An amazing event considering she is the one hosting, matching partners, taking care of the details necessary to make such an event a success, just generally being on top of it all as usual.  And there are 362 people participating.  It is absolutely mind boggling to me. 

But not to delay,  my wonderful partner for this party is Polly Barker from Chanute, Kansas.   Polly sent me a wonderful collection of beads. 

The bead selection included a beautiful floral pendant, so reminiscent of a lovely

summer day.  It also included a tube of delicas, three strands of crystals, a beautiful

length of blue silk, and a wonderfully unique clasp.

As you can see, the floral clasp is so cute with the little bee hook.

And this picture of the pendant doesn't do it justice.

And now without further ado...

I sewed seed beads onto all of the edges of the silk cord.

I was able to frame the pendant with two sterling beads and pulled the silk cording through the

pendant.  I knotted the cording on each side of the framing beads.

 

The pendant was so beautiful that I wanted to keep it in the front of the piece, just off-centered.

I used the crystals to create a meandering daisy chain to draw attention upward to the cute clasp.

Again a big thanks to Lori Anderson for being the driving force of this wonderful adventure, and a big hug to my partner Polly Barker for my wonderful soup ingredients.

So don't linger here too long, there are 361 more blogs to go visit.  You can find the complete list here.

Thanks for stopping by,

 

It's Party Time Again!

The amazing Lori Anderson is again hosting her wonderful Bead Soup Blog Party.  For those of you who are not familiar with this, it's really pretty cool.   Lori is an absolutely brilliant host.  You sign up to participate through her blog Pretty Things.  She then picks your beading partner with whom you exchange a set of beads (including a clasp, focal, and accent beads).  You then get to put your thinking cap on and create a necklace or what not with your beads and on party day you simply post your wonderful creation.  I really enjoyed the last one.  I spent three days Blog Hopping and checking out everyone's marvelous work.  You cannot believe how many marvelously talented people there are.

I can't wait to start. 

I've really got to get with the program....

Like many, I created this blog with the intention of sharing my creative adventures with others and to try to keep myself accountable for my other everyday adventures (sounds so much better than household duties).   While my creative adventures have continued, my sharing has not.  This problem is directly related to the second reason I started blogging.  Accountability.  I'm great in the planning, collecting of materials, projects, and usually the completion of a number of projects, it's the reporting part of the process that I seem to fail at.  (This is where my creative projects get in the way of household duties and other things.)  Anyway, think of this as my clean start.  Below are a few pictures of a few of my more artistic projects.

Consider this my new beginning in the world of blogging, crafting and keeping accountable and organized.  Hope you check in often, I hope not to disappoint.

Unveiling the '7000 Bracelets of Hope'..

Today's the day.  It's the day that those of us participating in Lori Anderson's latest Blog Hop show what we made.   A Blog Hop is a sort of party where the participants and those that follow their blogs are invited to hop around to a host of blogs that are participating in a similarly themed party.  This one just happens to support The Global Genes Project. This advocacy group is sponsoring a campaign to show support for children who suffer from rare diseases and their families.  The bracelets will be donated to this group for distribution to the families of these children to show that people do care and support them in their battle.

I have been blessed with two healthy children.  Their medical needs run along the lines of colds, sprains, and routine checkups.  I cannot even comprehend how overwelming, stressful, and scary it would be to have an ill child, let alone one suffering from a rare disease.  I hope that this campaign provides the families with a tangible representation that they are not alone in their struggles. 



After raiding my bead stash, this is what I created.

I used Dyed Imperial Jasper Sapphire lentils, Swarovski crystals, sterling silver findings and sterling chain to create this bracelet.  I attached an adjustable toggle clasp and a small charm that says 'Hope'.  I hope that who ever receives this bracelet knows that I am thinking of their children and families.  I hope that they know that their are not alone in their stuggles.  I hope that they know that a miracle is always just around the corner.

When I finished this bracelet, I looked at all of my leftovers and thought,  'Earrings'.  So I made a pair of earrings to match the bracelet. 

So, go on now.  Hope on over to Lori Anderson's Blog and follow the trail.  I am positive you'll find many beautiful and unique things along the way.

Wishing for a spring day....

Yep, I'm still wishing for a nice, sunny, spring day.  At this point, it
doesn't even have to be warm out.  Just seeing Mr. Sun would be fabulous.
But since the real thing doesn't seem to be coming for an extended
visit any time soon, I'll just have to make due with this sunny face..
Cute garden decor, huh?

However, even without the sun shining there are signs that spring is on its way..





All these pretty flowers seem to know that spring can't be far away.   The blue of this flower reminds me that I am participating in a Bracelet Blog Hop - 7000 Bracelets of Hope hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things.    You may recall that I participated in her Bead Soup Blog Party back in February.  I'm looking forward to raiding my bead stash and finding some fabulous blue beads with which to create a bracelet. When finished all the participants will post their creations on April 16th.  The 7000 Bracelets of Hope project is sponsored by The Global Genes Project.  This is the advocacy group which launched this program ass a way to show support to those families who have a child with a rare disease. Come back and check it out on April 16th.  I better get hopping as this is just next week. 

And speaking of hopping, Easter is coming soon.  So my chaotic crafting has turned toward making Eastery crafts.  Check out Quilted Cupcakes adorable bunnies.  I think I'll have to make a basket of these cute little

 guys.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world.

Spring Is here?

Notice the question mark.  Spring may have arrived on the calendar, but it is hiding its sunny face

from us here in the Pacific Northwest.  I woke again to another day of rain, wind, and cool

temperatures.  I am really getting the itch for some sunny days and better weather.  Gardening

isn't my thing, but about once a year I get the urge to plant something.  So off to the nursery

I went to gather a few posies and a few new pots with which to expend my yearly gardening

energy.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I'll just leave the rest of the spring gardening

to my husband.

My husband with the green thumb.

This rainy weather really doesn't do much for my energy level and neither did my late night

last night.  I'd like to say I spent it crafting, but I stayed up til 2 a.m. reading.

Anyone who knows me well, knows I really enjoy books.  My husband always knows

when the UPS man has delivered an Amazon box on our doorstep.  A new book

usually puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

Last nights nocturnal reading was 'Left Neglected' by Lisa Genova.

Some of you may recognize her name from her previous book 'Still Alice'.

I just love her books.   I think its because she depicts situations that could

happen to any of us.   Her books truly touch me because I can honestly put myself if the

shoes of these women she writes about.  Women who are in the full swing of life, with

careers, families, problems.  Women who are so busy taking care of everyone and

everything, that they really don't have time for what is to come.  Ms. Genova writes

about women who face neurological issues that bring their current lives to a halt.

 I have to admit I spent a few tears reading this book, just like 'Still Alice'.  My husband

can't quite understand how I can lay in bed, reading and crying and not wanting to

stop reading.  These are such well written stories, that while the situations are dire and

not without consequences, I come away with the feeling that these women, find something

so much richer, more valuable somehow than what they have lost.  This book

conveys the idea that our careers and material things (things that we think truly define us)

can be wiped out in a heartbeat.  That the true test of our success in life is how a person can

learn to live a life that has a 'new normal', and that our families, friends and the time

we spend with them is invaluable.  I know that life seems to move so much faster than

it used to.  These stories just show the possibility of gaining a richer life experience by

taking the opportunity to drop the trappings of our 'faster than light' lives.

Happy St. Paddy's Day....

Well it's St. Patrick's Day.  Went looking for a little leprechaun and his pot

of gold, but he wasn't to be found.  I created a cute little pot of shamrocks and daffodils

to decorate for the day.

 If you haven't seen Phyllis Hoffman's magazine

Celebration, your should really go take a look.

This year I'm using some of their recipes for a St. Paddy's Day dinner.  We are

having Corned Beef Sandwiches, coleslaw, herb roasted potatoes and Chocolate Guiness

Cupcakes. 

I think it turned out well.  Normally, I'll cook a corned beef brisket with cabbage and potatoes,

but I thought we needed a change.  Ok, I needed a change.  I have to say I am

really getting tired of cooking and for the last few weeks have relied on magazines

for recipes and inspiration.  Good news is that I am cooking and some of it is actually

eaten by my particular kids, however some of it hasn't turned out well.  It looked

good in the magazine, but my finished product just didn't do it justice.

Well, enough about cooking.  That's close to housework in my book and I don't like to do

housework.  I do it, but I don't like it.  Long before kids, I could spend an entire Saturday cleaning the house and then sit down and enjoy the fact that the whole house is clean.  Not any more, housework gets done sort of in shifts.  So my house does get cleaned, just not all at the same time.

Enough about housework and cooking, I need to get my focus back on beads and other crafting adventures...