Focus on Life. Gettin' caught up.

I am catching up on all my Focus on Life posts. Since I have a bazillion, there is limited elaboration and they are out of order, I don't guess that will be a big problem though:)

 

Aged Beauty. Mission San Juan Capistrano

 

Typography. Collaborative painting with my boys and I am calling it typography because it is written in their language.

Green.

 

Foodie

Reminisce. Great Grandma Em's butter dish and milk pitcher. Always on the table.

Take a walk. I didn't walk far, but I did see a handsome guy.

Color (used as a noun and a verb)

Abstract. Looking up through slats over patio. Great pattern.

Hope

Looking Up. Up in one of our trees-a new hummingbird with mama.

BIG HUGE THANK YOUS

One month! How does that happen!?!?!? One month since my last post! Well today I must post and say a huge THANK YOU to Lisa Niven Kelly  from Beaducation  for awarding my Bead Soup necklace in the color category. And again a big big HUGE THANK YOU to the amazing Lori Anderson for putting it all together and hosting one of the most spectacular online events ever! And of course another thank you to Stephanie and Chris from Pixybug Designs for the lovely lampwork flower focals used in this piece.

I am still "hopping", slowly but surely. The babes and I have all had some weird cold(?) that kind of kicked our butts for the past few weeks. I think few things are as distressing to a parent than when a wee one gurgles and sounds like he can't breath while sleeping. Hopefully everything will be normal again soon. Normal? Did I say that?

Bead Soup Reveal

Hellooo! To recap here is what Stephanie from Pixybug Designs sent me for this wonderful Bead Soup Party! Her husband Chris is a fabulous glass artist and the lovely focal, flowers and accent beads were made by him. Stephanie sent me a loaded bag let me tell ya and I have to say that I have alot left to play with. But here is what I did use now. Drum roll......

 

I paired the gorgeous faceted white crystals with some vintage white enameled chain,  ocean jasper, antique brass chain and glass jump rings from Hanson Stone. I broke up the chain links that Stephanie sent me and stacked them for a focal. They make the best clinky noise!!!! And I finished it off with that sweet little flower toggle she sent. 

Now this piece I had together immediately. I opened the box, saw the luscious focal and knew I had to pair it with ceramic rings and caps from Petra at Scorched Earth. I used painted gold wood beads, covered a few with recycled denim and placed Stephanie's faceted purple crystals. A few pyrite rounds, ocean jasper roundels and Indonesian glass act as spacers.

Don't ya just dig how all the colors play so well together?!?!?

 

 

I have just been in a fiber mood lately too. (Just bought a small "lap loom"- that will be another post.) So I crocheted some flowers with some of my favorite art yarn and attached Chris' beautiful glass flowers to them. I sewed them all together for a focal and strung them onto some polymer beads I made and plum vintage Lucite.

LOVE THESE!!!!

 

I have more "starts" with the other goodies from Stephanie. Thank you Stephanie! I had a blast this round. And HUGE HUGE THANKS to Lori Anderson who is a super hero:) Check out her blog to see all the participants. Thanks for stopping by!

Bead Soup Reveal Move

As is typical in my life lately I did not finish my soup piece in time for tomorrow's/today's reveal. I will be showing my creations next Saturday, April 20. Above is the soup fixins' that Stephanie Haussler from Pixybug Designs sent (just in case you missed my earlier post.) Loads of goodness to work with here! It has indeed been a challenge for me, but I am almost there! Make sure to stop over at Stephanie's blog to see what she came up with. I can't wait!!! See you next week:)

Focus on Life - Up Close

 

Focus on Macro! (Although a little out of focus-didn't use my tripod) But check out my new glass beads!!!! I found a new bead shop and these didn't just speak to me, they screamed! Head over to Sally's blog and find out what the others were focused on this week.

Faith and the Mustard Seed

If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.  Matthew 17:20 (paraphrased)

Sally's prompt for this week's focus is "Faith." I pondered what I would do for this and decided to do a painting. Being that we have company and I have to not be sequestered in my room, I started with an ink sketch and I think I might use Inktense pencils on this. A bit more mobile this way. The tiny black spot in the center of her belt by the way is the mustard seed:) I do believe in a Higher Power I call God and my faith is Christian in nature. But I think anyone, regardless of their personal beliefs, can embrace the concept of faith. Faith is Hope. Faith is Believing. And I think that the beautiful thing is that it can be applied to our personal lives in many different capacities. Faith is a wonderful and beautiful thing.

Lorelei's Bauble Challenge Reveal

 

 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago Lorelei blogged about a little find while on a Michael's run. She found these odd little connector baubles in glorious sea tones and purply - which I purchased just in case, but did not use. They came in groups of three and she proposed a challenge in which we would use all three in a design. Here is what I came up with. I wired all of the slides together to create a single center and connected it to leather pieces on each side. And then I hung a poka-dot polymer dangler.  I painted the leather pieces before piercing and adding grommets. Next time I will pierce and grommet first because of course the holes hit in painted spots that I particularly liked. I had a little visitor last week and he was the inspiration for my little bit of whimsy. Thanks for stopping by and be sure and check out what everyone else came up with.

 

Lorelei
Shirley Moore
Peacock Fairy
Sally Russick
Pamela770
Erin Prais-Hintz
Heather Powers
MirandAck
Lily
Lola
Tanya
Mary
Elisabeth
Rosebud101
Ann
Denise McCabe

March Challenge Necklace

Here is a little necklace I made for Art Bead Scene's March Challenge. I have been playing around with polymer clay, making rough, rustic, primitive style pendants and beads. I love to watch the "magic" happen with the layering, texturizing and painting. The pendant and focal bead are two examples. The two fabulous ceramic "eyes" are beads by Mary Ann Carroll. There are some of my chunky ceramic beads, earth stones, copper and glass. I curled up a clasp to finish it off.  I really was inspired by all the color in this month's challenge painting by Marc Franz. A woodland setting with sleeping deer. So peaceful and earthy. Quietude amidst the wonderful natural chaos of color and texture that one finds in such awesome spaces such as an untouched mountain forest.

Curves

 

This weeks focus is on curves. Find the curves all around us. Well they truly are everywhere. This little guy, I guess he's a guy, was an early morning treasure. I went out to add some trash to the garbage bin out front and there he was inching along the grass. I went back in the house and brought the boys out to see. Then went back in a got the camera. Took a few photos. He was very cooperative, posed for me and even flirted I think.

Possibilities

 

We are focusing on possibilities this week. Did you realize that there are very few things that don't offer unlimited possibilities? I didn't. They are everywhere in almost every scenario. If that isn't a huge blast of positive-ness I don't know what is. This is such a wonderful thing!! I have started playing with air dry clay since I don't know when I'll get my little kiln up and running. This little lady is posing with the mound from which she came. Clay is awesome stuff. Any kind. I love squishing it and forming it and coloring it. I'm doing an online workshop with Susana Tavares. I formed my little doll last week and now I am just waiting for her to dry completely so I can paint her. Whooo hoooo paint!!

Wound Up Tight

 

Oh my so this weeks Focus is "Wrapped Up." And here is a close up of my self portrait for the week indeed! I just don't think I could be wound any tighter!!!!! This is said even after having a babysitter for three hours this morning.  ANYHOW, I got a new little Coiling Gizmo gadget and after reading this weeks prompt I knew exactly what I was going to post. I pulled it out of the box this afternoon in spite of a two year old growing on my leg and wrapped, wrapped, wrapped! I have never used one of these little contraptions before, and I must say, that there aren't any written instructions included, except for a few pictures on the back of the box. But I was delighted with the results. And I think maybe I'll incorporate the blue beauty in the foreground in this month's Art Bead Scene challenge. We'll see.

Looking For My Muse

 

Behind The Door

Well this week's Focus on Life challenge was a challenge. The topic-doors. Which is a really great topic. I didn't take a photograph because I didn't really know where I wanted to go with this. I actually like doors. In particular, I like old church doors. So I tried to analyze this. Um-um. I just like the architecture I guess. Doors open. Doors close. The boys hate it when I am behind a closed door. I have to sneak or wait until nap time to go to the bathroom. This includes the baby gate that separates my office from the hallway. We just HATE that! Doors separate. So I have been thinking about what a door could signify for me as far as opportunity. What do I want? Seriously. What do I really want? And that is what I am currently pondering. How can one be forty something and not know what she wants? So this is where I am at. And I am not saying this is a bad thing. This is good. It's pretty important. So thank you Sally for this weeks prompt! The picture is of a painting I did a few years ago. The title of the show was See Like A Child. I used pretty much mundane subject matter and tried to convey what a child's point of view might be. I hope I didn't cheat by not using a current image:)

What I Meant To Say

 

 

Soar

 

Here is my Challenge of Music Piece. I listened at a bazillion tunes I think on You Tube until I had a duh huh moment and pulled out my YO-YO MA cd. I love his sound. I love the cello. I hope at least one of my babies will be musically inclined and wouldn't it be wonderful if he played the cello. The piece I picked is Ecstasy of Gold performed with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra and directed (directed? written?) by Ennio Morricone. Hopefully this link will take you to You Tube, but it still can't compare to blasting it through one's own speakers. Just don't get the same "feel". I must confess. This is not my "ideal" submission. Although the music does make me soar (butterfly) and I would definitely attribute some earthiness (wood, ceramic) to it, I envision not only a palette of light and dark, but components that have contrasting weights. I was almost there. But Pink Eye struck last night as a nice little garnish to my sinus infection. And being She Who Waits Till the Last Minute, hadn't started enough in advance. At least not enough in advance.  Click here to see all those who are playing!

 

 

Focusing on Life a Two-for

We have some kind of crud here. Started last weekend with one of the boys and a case of double pinkeye and strep. Then Mr. PearlandPebble got strep. I've got something that feels like flu, but dr. said no fever so he put me on antibiotics. Hubby's has morphed into a sinus infection and I think that is about where I am at right now. And of course my other little sweetie now  has the pink eye in both  eyes. And so needless to say, I did not post my focus of life photos last week or this past weekend. Flowers was the first theme. Monochromatic was the second. So I combined them. I love watching how these guys come up with stuff. They love flowers. When we go out walking they are constantly stopping to browse in the grass or landscapings. Usually a small flower comes home with us. Dandelions are just as appealing as daisies or lilies. They also love to "put things into things". It was a problem with plugs and outlets until we found the right protectors that kept them out. The picture shows them making Playdough flowers with straws for stems. They were also incorporating Lego flowers, but I liked this picture best.

Soup Beads

 

My Soup Beads are here!!!! Take a look at the lovely lovely beads Stephanie sent to me. The lavendar lampwork focal, flowers and accent beads were made by her husband Chris. I can't wait to play!!!

Teaser Teaser Teaser

 

Here is what is going to the lovely Stephanie Haussler from Pixiebug Designs. Stephanie is my Bead Soup Partner this round and I for one am pretty excited!!!! She is a beader after my own heart as she insists there is rarely a bead she doesn't like! Hopefully she won't be disappointed now. I think my little teaser here is a pretty good tease-it looks like a bowl of embroidered neon fish bones:)

Playing with Patina

 

Lima Beads had a crossword puzzle challenge thing a few weeks ago and I solved it (at the last minute) and what I was rewarded with was twenty percent off Vintaj. Well, that was just okey dokey fine by me let me tell you! So one of the things I had to get was one of the patina kits. I picked Retro Highway. Has yellow, black and white. Makes a coooool green.  The pendant is a Vintaj piece. The others are vintage brass caps, a textured brass ring and a Vintaj toggle bar. Whoo hoo! I want them all!!!!! (Insert crazy maniacal laughter here)

Secrets

 

I love the little scenarios I think I see in inanimate objects. So when Sally gave us the challenge to find these intimate relationships to document, I was like whoo hooo! A few years ago I had done a series of pastel paintings which depicted exactly that. The other day I caught my apples exchanging a private moment. I am not sure what the guy on the right is whispering to her, but she is blushing and listening very intently. I have even more people in my house this weekend. Please forgive me if I get to you my focus mates blog a bit later in the week!

Earring Challenge Reveal No. 2

Here are my next three pairs of earrings that I made for the AJE earring challenge. We make one pair of earrings a week and post every two weeks. Starting from the top, left to right, I used beautiful polymer beads from Stillpointworks and amber swirl lampwork headpins from Gardanne beads. Little pop of turquoise there too. Next pair features pretty ceramic poppy beads from Earthenwood Studio. and the last pair features cool polymer beads from Artybecca. I know - three pairs!!! Yay me:)

Focus on Hearts

 

This week Focus on Life theme was hearts. Take the camera and snap em where ever I might find them. I found an awesome pine cone "butt" that was wonderful. We were at the park and I didn't have my camera because it can not under any circumstance be left in the wagon with you know who. I had my cell, but that proved to be horrid. So you will just have to take my word for it that it was a lovely little find. I did however paint another lady. And she is holding a heart. She looks kind of bitchy if you ask me. I think she had a bad Botox experience. Mr. Pearl and Pebble and I have been rearranging our working spaces. So when I was organizing, I came across some sheets of painted paper that I had cut down to use as backgrounds. I painted her on one of those. I don't know if I'll get this post "linked up" or not. My inlaws are arriving in a few hours and it's always iffy if I can make it to the computer. I am hoping that this post will show up as I have had problems with blogger and posting ahead. And speaking of problems, I don't know what has been going on with people commenting and then getting an error message. I am getting the comments-thank you so much-so please don't stop! Have a great weekend and be sure to stop over at The Studio Sublime and see what everyone else found on their heart hunt.

Focus on Creating

I think I'm calling her little blue princess. This weeks Focus on Life theme was to create something. Whoo Hoo!! I was soooo excited about this week let me tell you. I mentioned previously that I am taking an online workshop with Magaly from Itsy Bitsy Spill. I started my last assignment which was painting myself as a mermaid under the sea. Well let me tell ya, in spite of being a water sign, mermaids are something that I just can't seem to "get into". So I have been struggling with that one. I'll get there, I just need more time as I can't relax with it. So this afternoon I'm thinking well crap, now what should I do? I pulled out a little 5x7 canvas board and limited my pallet to blue, orange, black, white and gold and just started sketching with paint. And here she is. I rather like her too - even though princesses are slightly higher on the food chain than mermaids:) Visit The Studio Sublime to see what the other participants came up with for this weeks focus.

Found A New Shop

When Mr. Pearl and Pebble goes out of town I "act up". Last trip I OD'd on Vera Bradley purses from QVC. This trip, I Etsy'd after the boys went to bed (instead of doing something productive) and came accross this AWESOME shop. Scorched Earth. Have you heard of it? OMG I totally spent money. Here are just a few of Petra's wares. I didn't buy the nomad man pendant. I REALLY REALLY WANT him though!!!! I just love her earthy style.