Bluebird Necklace

This is my necklace for the BOC Color Challenge using a Tetradic color scheme. Turquoise, red-orange, yellow-green and violet-red. This was a tough one. Two sets of complimentary colors gets a wee bit tricky! And yet it is one of my favorites I think. I LOVE how if feels on. Do you see the way cool pendant by Diane Hawkey?!?!?! Oh we love that yes we do!!!! Another late night here-bad lighting for the picture......same ole story! Sorry bout that. I PROMISE to try and be more organized for the next post!

Quick Trick Block Stack Necklace

Oh my trying to decide on a Dr. Seuss book! Laughing in the children's section at Borders...Great fun! This necklace was finished in the nick of time for Erin Prais-Hintz's March challenge based on the books of Dr. Seuss. The lighting in the picture is just awful I know. I'll try and get some better ones up tomorrow. The book I chose was "Fox In Socks." Don't ya just love the last page of the book!!!!! This just cracked me up because I realized that the good doctor wrote for the reader as well as the readee. Really do love the turquoise blue and red that always shows up in a Seuss book. In fact that is one of the first things I think of when I think of the books. I let myself have fun making these beads. I left the blocks all morphy with my finger indentations. I really had fun with the squashed rounds. The others are red and white glass and turquoise seed beads. The clasp is made up with another of those fabulous vintage buttons I found antiquing last fall.

(I hope this all makes sense! I just got back from a meeting and I am sooooooo tired. Way past my bedtime!)

Good Monday Morning!

Courtesy of our nephew, aka "Number 4." I really must get a spud bucket of my own. I love the quote of the day by Norman Vincent Peale: Change your thoughts and you change your world. So very true!!

Today is the day for the Solar System necklace give away!!!

I used the old fashioned method of folding individual entries, closing my eyes, fluffing all around and pulling out one name

Congratulations to LEANN of SUMMERS STUDIO !!!! Thanks for playing everyone! Have a great day:D

Bluer Than Violet

I did play with more dyes yesterday! I mixed sapphire and purple and you can see that it is a more on the blue side. That is OK. I still love it and am pretty proud of myself!!!! Mostly for just following through instead of adding to my intention shelf! But what lesson did I learn? Do not throw the silk in with the wool! The result is similar to when you leave a tissue in your jeans pocket and run through the washing machine. I've labeled the kind of wool each is. And this particular wool I got from jamielyncohoon on Etsy. I really love Romney wool, but the targhee -oh man! I just want to wrap up in it an take a loooonnnnggg nap! Particularly since I have been waking up at 3:30am lately. I hear this is the norm for 40+ ???? As I was dragging into a meeting this morning, a friend noticed the fatigue. When I said insomnia she said "Oh - 3:30?" How did you know? She said that was "the time" and that's when the Spirits are talking. Never heard of this. Have you? I wish they could chat with me, say 10am, over coffee.

I Woke Up Feeling Violet

I woke up with all shades of violet on my mind. Don't know what that is all about. Maybe it is an emerging spring and all the anticipation of color. A close up of a pot of purple daisys I picked up at the market a few weeks ago. Their color is starting to change, but as you can see it is still pretty intense. They smell good too. Fresh and earthy. They inspired me to do a little batch of felt balls. I got some wool yesterday from Fleece Makers. It is undyed and I can't wait to play with some dye again. Maybe that is where the purple visions are stemming from. I am on my way out to the fiber shop to pick some up.

Now I have posted this necklace before and it has absolutely nothing to do with me and my violet thoughts. This is my offering for my first give away ever! Just tell me about your "color days." I'll pick randomly from any posts left here on Monday March 29.

Sunset

Melanie Brooks was most kind in giving me permission to print out her lovely sunset photo so that I might make a pastel painting. Landscape of any kind has always given me troubles. I don't know why. It took layers upon layers and then -CLICK- it worked. Then I sprayed it with fixative. Oh:( Darkened way down it did!!!! Lost all my subtle "beauty colors." So what did we learn from that Tari? Ok so I went back over and over and it's not so bad. Needs some tweeking - the horizon line is still a wee bit wobley for the ocean. But I'm kind of happy with this. The really cool thing is that if I did 50 more of these from the same photograph, they would all "emerge" differently. I think that is the magic of creating anything.

Sheesh I can't believe how crazy things have been! I threw Mr. Pearl And Pebble a surprise 40th birthday party on Sat. Was good but he suspected. Although, he did NOT suspect the acoustic guitar band. That was cool. This here picture is of my first attempt at dying wool! I am VERY VERY happy with it! I needed a Dracula red and didn't have one. So I made one myself. The picture is actually a bit lighter that the actual color. So now I'm itching to try more colors. Don't you love it when the first attempt is a success?!?

Blue/Green and Orange/Red

AKA Turquoise and Coral. My bracelet using a complementary color scheme for the Beads of Clay Color Challenge. The beautiful little focal is from Spirited Earth. I'm having great fun participating in this. If you are not already playing check out Artisan Clay's post for details and jump right in!!

A Peony I Would Be

If I were a month I'd be May. If I were a day I'd be Monday. If I were a time of day I'd be morning. If I were a planet I would be Earth. If I were a sea animal I would be a dolphin. If I were a direction I would be Northwest. If I were a piece of furniture I would be Mid-Century Modern. If I were a liquid I would be water from a spring. If I were a gemstone I would be turquoise. If I were a tree I would be the favorite of all the birds (but not so much the dogs). If I were a tool my handle would be leather. If I were a flower I would be a Peony. If I were and element of weather I would be a soft summer rain. If I were a musical instrument I would be a guitar. If I were a color I would be blue with a bit of green. If I were an emotion I would be peaceful. If I were a fruit I would be a mango. If I were a sound I would be baby's laughter. If I were an element I would be water. If I were a car I would be a classic. If I were a food I would be delicious. If I were a place I would be full of ambiance. If I were a material I would be embroidered cotton. If I were a taste I would be savory. If I were a scent I would have spicy undertones. If I were a body part I would be eyes. If I were a facial expression I would be a smile. If I were a song I would be soothing, smooth and mellow. If I were a bird I would be an owl. If I were a gift I would be appreciated. If I were a street I would be brick. If I were a city I would have a really cool Main Street and a huge park. If I were a door I would be french. If I were a pair of shoes I would feel like a dream. My thanks to Lori from whose blog I borrowed this. It really was uplifting to do. I challenge you to do one too. It makes you think about the little things that you love and find wonder in. A really nice positive reflection.

Luna Park Necklace

Yeah I know I need to work on more creative titles..... Here is my submission to the Art Bead Scene February Challenge. It is based on a painting by Vestie Davis. I made the felt bead and adorned it with delicas. The clasp is a vintage button. Love that button!!! I got the glass beads a few years back from Venetian Beads and never quite knew how to use them.

Mommy?

A little blurry and the color is off-I took the photo in the living room after dark. I'll have to re-shoot everything tomorrow in daylight and with a tripod. The show is next week and I have to deliver on Saturday, so tomorrow is also a framing day. Don't much care for framing. Do we like the title?

Can't Wait To Play!

A week or so ago, Melissa Lee had a wonderful give away- an Artbeads gift certificate!!! And I was the lucky winner:D This is what I picked out: Thank you Melissa!!! Be sure and check out her blog and her Etsy Shop. She creates really fun and wonderful pieces with metal clay.

Floaties

Here is my necklace that I made for Erin's Solar System Challenge! I suspended natural stone and crystal on Supplemax nylon line. I did take liberties with placement and size, but I tried to stick to the colors somewhat! It's all fun anyway, right!!!???!!!

Look What You Could Win!!!!

This is just one grouping of glorious beads that could be YOURS if you go on over to Barbara Lewis' new blog, Painting With Fire, and become a follower. Then blog about it. It's that easy!!!! I happen to have one of those beads up there- the cut-out one, and a few of those head pins down there in the corner-GLORIOUS! In robin's egg blue. So beautiful.

The Full Monty

This is my latest pastel. The pears reminded me of those in the spotlight on stage. Which reminded me of the movie........

BEWARE-LUSTABLES PICTURED

New acquisitions from Sue Beads. She included a couple little beauties in the orders! Love the silvered earth tones in the etched bead!

Now , do we L-O-V-E the little owl pendant from Patina Queen ?!?!?

BE STILL MY HEART! I am IN LOVE with this little monster pendant from Cindy Ginter at Potterygod.

Totally diggin' these tiny lampwork glass jump rings from Hanson Stone Handmade.

Gorgeous glass from Kelley's Beads! I love the etched with the "undulating ribbon." She included a couple of her new little nuggets! Love Them!! BTW, Kelley is very good about whipping up a batch of just about anything you need and is very convo friendly, so if you see something or have an idea, give her a holler.

UMMMMM Love These Pendants from Diane Hawkey! The little frog is my FAVORITE!!

Here are some glass beads I just bought from Checkoway Glass, a new shop I found on Etsy.

Incredibly lovely beads from Artisan Clay! The blue pendant and sodalite beads were my winnings from the Beads of Clay Color Challenge. The beautiful connector pendant was one that I had had my eye on since Christmas. Since Kristie was going to be mailing me a package anyway........

Wonderful beads from Andrew Thornton. I love the earthy glass - and those owls!!! Sooo sweet! He included a neat little polymer bead that he made. I love it and I think it is going to be perfect in a design for Erin's Solar System Design Challenge.

Tantalizing glass from Cindy Gimbrone.

That's all. ahem. Looks like this little missy has some beading to do!

A fun time had by all at the bead soup party. Still catching up on all of it! I can't wait to wear my beautiful new necklace tonight! I slept horribly - all was well until Mr. Pearl and Pebble "bounced in his sleep, freaking the dog out, making her jump off the bead, scaring the cat who was on top of me...... I hate being woken up. Good luck with that I know when the baby gets here. Here are my latest pastel paintings. I was thinking cheerleaders in a pyramid the whole time painting this. These baby beets were too beautiful at the market. The colors were amazing! They tasted good too. Suprisingly easy to cook: Break the greens off, Wash, Put in a pan of boiling water with enough water to just cover them. Boil until tender-I found that this was until the water pretty much boiled away. Put in bowl of cold water. Slide the skins off, slice. I put them back in the pan with melted butter for a quick reheat. Toss with fresh chopped parsley, salt and pinch of pepper. Done and Yum.

I called this one Private Party. I love the perceived animation I conjour up in my head. Must stem from early childhood when one plays with their food.

SOUP!!!!!!

Melanie from Earthenwood Studio is my soup partner and this is the wonderful selection of ingredients she sent me. So lovely and perfect. The color is just amazing! I love turquoise - it is one of my favorite stones! Now as you can see, Melanie was way beyond generous and because of it I have plenty of glorious beads left over for future creations! Thank you Melanie!!! Now to talk of the process and the beads themselves..... You know, when I first opened this package of yumminess, I instantly thought "piece of cake." I mean, how much of a challenge could this be- it's ALL here! And yet, I spent a good thirty hours or so -no lie- just on configurations. And the challenge I found was in Melanie's beads themselves. YOU HAVE TO HOLD AN EARTHENWOOD BEAD TO UNDERSTAND. This pendant is significant in size and weight. Yet the color and motif - soft and delicate. It did not want to be paired up with multiple strands of chunky turquoise-which I kept insisting on doing. It wanted all it's aspects to be respected. It wanted earthy and airy. It wanted lightness ala substance. While I know that each designer is different with unique tastes and perspectives, this is the final design that I came up with. I feel like the part of the necklace that wants to take flight is anchored with chain elements and earthiness. The solid look of turquoise juxtaposed with faceted transparency of crystal and green garnet. Thank you again to Melanie. Make sure you check out her blog and her Etsy shops. And by all means, treat yourself to one (or more!) of her beads! Thank you again to Lori for hosting such a great event!!!! Click on the Bead Soup Party picture on my side bar to go to her blog page where she has all the participants and links to their blogs. Thanks for looking! Enjoy!!!

We LOVE the butterfly clasp!

What A Great Day

Today has been a great day. I started and all but finished a pastel painting. I finally managed to get to the market that has the good coffee. (What we've been drinking just isn't the same. I can make do, but poor Mr. Pearl and Pebble.) At the check-out I grabbed a bag of RJ's Raspberry Soft Eating Licorice from New Zealand. Nobody made me say it, but it is darn good! And best of all when I got home and sat down in front of the computer, I saw that my monochromatic bracelet was the lucky winner in the Beads of Clay Color Challenge! Yaaayyyy:) I am very excited because the price is something yummy from Artisan Clay . (Follow the link and check out her shop and you'll understand my glee!)

Color Challenge Bracelets

So I did decide to use this design for the Analogous Color Scheme in the BOC Color Challenge. And here is what I will submit for the monochromatic color theme. It also has a Lisa Peters' stoneware connector. (one of the criteria is that a clay bead must be used) Also in there, glass jump rings from Hanson Stone Handmade - (one of my new favorite things btw), carved sodalite rose, vintage crystals and a glass bead with a "dZi" design that I have had forever and never had the right occasion to use it. Here again I must stress the importance of never getting rid of anything! (Are you reading this Mr. P&P?!?!)