No White Christmas! What's Next!

Hiya everyone to the last post this year!  I hope that you all had a great Christmas and have a safe and happy New Years.  Don't forget, if you go out to celebrate that you get home safely, and use a designated driver please.  I don't want to lose any of you as followers.  LOL

I hope that you all got what you wanted for Christmas.  I got 2 awesome homemade gifts.  My son made me a cutting board in shop class and I love it.  I actually thought it was a store bought one.  It looks so professional!  I LOVE it.  I cried and he was like, "Mom!  What's wrong?"  Needless to say he could not understand why I would cry that he made me something.  LOL  Kids!  Me and my kids got homemade glasses from my brother and sister in-law.  They are all personalized with our names and designs on them.  We all loved them!  So cool!  As you can see mine says Tina Bug!  That is what my brother has called me forever!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  Did any of you get something awesome for Christmas?

Also this week over at Every Inchie Monday the last theme of the year is Next.  My first thought was those little number things that you have to pull when you go to the DMV.  Don't you hate when you go to the DMV and your number is 63 and they secretary is on number 31!!!  ARG!!!!  So that is where this came from.  For this one I used 3 colors of delicas and I like how it came out.

Also this week is the last twinchie over at 2x2x2 is White.  So for this one for some reason I went to the white things I HATE instead of love.  I guess it was easier than trying to design things that I love.  Anyways, for this twinchie I made a spider web with a black widow spider on it.  I mean I used to have arachnophobia, but now I am not bad with that but I always worry about walking into a spider web.  I mean talk about becoming an instant break dancer!  Not many things are worse than walking into one of those and then trying to free yourself!  ACK!  So here is my twinchie, I used 4 colors of Delicas.  I really love the geometric look of this.

 Also this week I finished a piece for the Dry Gulch December Challenge I am super excited for this necklace. I love the look of it.  I actually thought I would not like it.  If you are not familiar with Dry Gulch Challenge it is a monthly color challenge and you have to use all of the colors in the challenge.  first place wins a $50 gift certificate and second place wins a $25 gift certificate to the Dry gulch online bead store.  If you have not checked it out or entered it, please do.  It has really stretched my design abilities and color matching wits!  Like I said earlier I was not sure I would like the color schemes for this month but I really LOVED this!

 I used handmade lamp work beads made by Tanya McGuire. Check her out, her beads are awesome and hand made.  I also used white jade faceted rondelles, teal crystal disks, small glass pearl seed beads, small brick red rondelles, small barrel shaped red swarovski crystals, and rose quartz heshi beads.  I really like the look of this and the colors together looks awesome.

Well, that is it for me for this year!  I can't believe that this year is almost over.  ALMOST OVER!  Wow!  I pray for blessings over all who are reading this and a blessed next year for you all.  If you want to have a fun design challenge for yourself think about joining EIM, 2x2x2, or Dry Gulch.  I know you will have fun.  Trust me on this!

Have a blessed and creative rest of the year my friends.

Evolution and the Holidays.

Hiya everyone, thanks for taking time out of this busy week to stop by the nest today.  Especially since I am running late this week.  I know this week is a big one for us all.  The tree, the trimmings, the food and family.  I hope that we all remember the reason for the season, and remember the blessings that we have all been given this day and every day.  I pray that this new year will be a blessing for everyone who reads this.

Now, onto this weeks inchie.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme was a rough one.  It was Evolution.  Wow!  How do you portray Evolution in an inch?!?  Well, all of the other artists did an awesome job.  Me, not so much!  LOL  All I could think of was the evolution of the phone, from a meek little home phone to a sleek cell phone.  

It might be hard to see but in this inchie I have beaded the words HOME and CELL.  Again, I did say that it was a rough theme!  hahaha.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that each and every one of you have a blessed Christmas.  

Sparklie Locomotives

Hiya everyone I hope that your December is going well.  Mine is trudging along.  I hate that I have no energy.  I have not even had the energy to get back to the other blog that I started a few weeks back.  I have wanted to and am excited about it but it takes so much just to do this blog right now that I am not focusing on that one.  Not yet anyways.  I am still working on the weight loss.  Just not blogging about it yet.

But for now let me get back to this blog.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Locomotive and my first thought was to make the bullet rain but since that would not fit in an inch I went with the next best thing for me.  Part of the gates that protect us from those lovely LONG trains.

With this inchie I used 4 colors of Delicas.  I like the look of this one.  If only I could have added some LED lights or something LOL.

Also this week over at 2x2x2 the theme is Sparkle.  I just couldn't figure anything out on this one.  I thought about Twilight Sparkle of My Little Pony but I did not think I could make that in 2 inches so I just thru some words together on a rainbow background and called it good.  Also, note to self, next time you make a rainbow background make sure the lines are thicker, as changing colors so much was a true PITA!

Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out all the great artwork and designs over there and if you think you might enjoy playing along both sites have posted next years lists already so why not join in?!?  I hope that you all have a great rest of your week.  I am just happy that I finally got the pictures to post after trying for 2 days!  This is the price to pay for living in the middle of nowhere lol.  Have a blessed and creative week my friends and thank you for stopping by and leaving me a comment, I love to read all of them.

Stars and Angels

Hiya everyone, sorry this is a bit late.  It seems that every December I get overly tired.  I dont know if it is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or just the change in seasons, but I am just worn out.  But, now on to more happy things.

Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Angel. Back in 2012 we had the theme and I did a little red headed angel and since I live with 2 of them there really was no choice of what to make LOL. This time I decided to make the 2 things that are "typical" angel things, a halo and wings.

 For this inchie I used 3 colors of Delicas. I like how the matte black makes the wings and halo pop.  Here is the one I made in 2012.  The picture is a bit hard to see but here she is.

Also last week I finally got the beads I needed to finish a necklace that I designed to match the bracelet that I made from a pattern from my friend Becca, check it out here.  The pattern is free and beautiful.  I want to thank Beads to Weave for getting me the beads I needed for my addiction, necklace.  Here is the set.  The necklace did not come out how my mind saw it but I still love it.  Hope you like it as well.

That is it for me this week.  I think I am going to go take a nap.  LOL  Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and check out the great angelic art over there and hey if you are interested then check out next years list.  The fantastic Trillian took the list from the great book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  Looks like next year is gonna be another great EIM year. Have a blessed and creative week my friends.

A Tea of a Traditional week

Hiya everyone, I hope that everyone's Thanksgiving was a blessed one.  Mine was great.  Went to see my Mom and my Brother and Sister and their families.  I really miss them all and wish we lived closer to them all.  Somehow, not sure how it happened but NO ONE took pictures!  WHAT!!!  Usually every get together produces multitudes of pictures but I think this time everyone was so busy eating and hanging out to take pictures.

Me and my Son had a great time but the drive to and from was awful and wayyy too long!  I was a bit hesitant on the drive home, mostly because of last Thanksgiving's issues coming home.  For those who don't remember check it out here.  But we did make it home, took forever but we did it.  After resting some I took time to do my inchie and twinchie for this week.

So let's get right to it.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme was Tea, So I went with one of my daughters favorite things, teacups.

I like how this one came out.  Even though there is 6 colors of Delicas in here it is hard to see the 4 different colors in the cup.  Besides that I still like it.

Also over at 2x2x2 the theme is Tradition.  My first thought of this one was the military.  What better tradition to have then to be involved in the military.  So I wanted to thank a vet for their service and show what they traditionally fought for.  I hope that you like it, I really love this twinchie.

This twinchie has 5 colors and it portrays a flag that I found online that was hanging on a branch somewhere after a really bad storm.  I just loved the look of it and the fact that it was fraying.  To me it spoke to the fact that it had been thru something.  At the top I put in Thank a vet.  Hope you like this one as much as I do.

Now also this week I did something that I have been wanting to do for a long while now.  I am a bit scared and excited about this right now.  But I really want and need to lose weight and so I started a new blog. One that I hope will inspire me (and hopefully you) to lose weight and to become a strong and empowered woman.  So, if you are so inclined please check out my new blog and let your friends know about it as well.  Check it out here.

That is all I have for you all this week.  Don' forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to see what awesome work that everyone has come up with.   I hope and pray that you all have a blessed and creative week.

It's a Thankful Week

Hello everyone, I hope that everyone is having a blessed week.  Here in America this is the biggest food week of the whole year.  Some people wait all year for this week.  Some of those people wait for the football and food, others just wait for it to be over so they don't have to see certain family members until the same time next year.  (just kidding)

This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Crochet.  I think those people who can crochet are awesome.  I can not do it.  I really want to try to do bead crochet again.  I love the look of it and think that it is beautiful.  One of these days I am gonna sit down and force myself to learn it.  But until then I will stick with what I love to do; beading.

Here is my inchie. I used 2 colors of delicas and designed a crochet pattern in flat peyote.  Hope you like it as well.

I got the pattern off of a crochet pattern website.  I am not sure how you can crochet this pattern but I thought it looked great and think that it translated well into peyote.

Also this week I finished a bracelet that I put together from a friends earring pattern.  A few weeks back I got a starfish earring pattern from my friend Becca, she is an awesome lady who has a great sense for design.  I started to work on the starfish, but since I can't wear earrings I decided to make 7 of them and make them into a bracelet.  But the need to get Christmas ornaments done superseded my desire to finish this bracelet.

But if you are an artist and you feel a piece screaming at you you have no choice but to listen to the art.  So I went back to the starfish and finished the bracelet.  Check it out.

This bracelet has Super Duos, 8/0's and 11/0's.  I love how the pattern works well with each new piece.  I added each new starfish at a 180 degree angle.  I like that it looks like a wave of starfish sitting on the beach.  What do you think?  If you would like to get the pattern, fly on over to Beccas and get it.

Another thing about when art screams at you for your undivided attention is that you end up doing one thing and another one comes up from it.  After making this bracelet I decided that I wanted to make a necklace to match.  One problem, I did not have all the beads I need for the necklace, so now I have to wait for them to come in so I can make the necklace.  ARG!  Makes me think I need to have more beads.  (Snort!)

I just wanted to mention here what I am thankful for.  I am of course thankful for family, friends and the fact that I have a job.  But I am also thankful for the fact that I am able to be creative.  I think without creativity in my life I would probably be very unhappy.  What are you thankful for?

This week I will be driving 1500 miles round trip to visit family and so with that in mind I say to you all have a blessed and thankful week this week.  Enjoy your family and food.  Be safe and be blessed, and I would like to say that I am thankful for everyone of you who visit regularly and leave me a litle comment.  If you would like to join in the inchie fun just fly on over to here and check out EIM.  The 2016 list is up and it looks to be a creativity stretcher for myself.  I hope that you all think about joining in the fun.

Bee Exotic and Show Love for Paris

Blessings to everyone this week.  I know this has been a tough one for many of us this week.  My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Paris.  For me, when things like what happened in Paris happen I feel helpless and many times my beading helps me to cope.

I wish I was able to just show off art pieces this week and not have to acknowledge what happened in Paris.  But, sadly, evil happens in this world we live in and I would be less than human to say that it does not affect me or have anything to do with me.

But, I do know that art in any form can unite peoples and help to sooth the pain that we all feel in times of crisis.  How about us as an artistic community help to bring about change, healing and possibly hope through our individual art forms.  Lets all spread love through our art and start to make a change.  With this in mind I made this.  It is a 1.5 x 1.5" piece of artwork, I used 4 colors of delicas. I designed the French flag with a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower.  I hope that you like it.

Also this week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Exotic.  For this one I thought real hard trying to figure out something exotic for the exotic inchie.  My first thought was to make some colorful exotic drinks.  The kind with flowers and umbrellas.  So for this inchie I used 9 colors of Delicas.  I did mess up once but did not notice it until it was too late.  But I like the finish product.

Lastly, this week over at 2x2x2 the theme is Bee.  I really loved designing this one as I had to design the background separately, add the bee over the top of it then merge them together.  Which was a design concept that I had only done 2 times before in this program.  I really love the outcome of it, and hope you do as well.  Isn't he cute?

That is it for me this week.  Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out the challenges over there.  I hope all of you go out and beautify your world this week.  Keep Paris in your prayers and have a blessed and creative week.

Different Design This Week

I hope that this post finds everyone warm and doing well.   I have been busy working on the Christmas ornaments and have only got a few more to go.  So this weekend I really only had time to work on my inchie and nothing much more that I can show right now.  There is alot of longing, but little time for doing!  Why does it seem that we cant wait for the weekend to be away from work, and we spend the whole week at work wishing the days would go by fast but then we want time to slow down on the weekends?  I mean I know that is one of those questions that needs no answer, but still!

This week I had a hard time with the theme over at Every Inchie Monday but finally got it in an abstract kinda way.  The theme is Nymph.  I really had to stretch my thinking on this one.  I was not sure how to portray that in an inch of beads but finally I got into desperate abstract thinking and I ended up with this.

On this inchie I used 3 colors of Delicas.  Sadly the picture does not show how bright and shiny the orange beads are.  Can you figure out what this is & what it has to do with a Nymph?  Got it?  Need more time?  I will wait and give you more time.  Give up yet?. . . . . . OK I will tell you.  It is the top corner of the nymph's wing.  See it now?  Maybe tilt your head to the right. . . . then the left. . .  ahhh now you see it!  YAY!  LOL.  I did have to dig deep for this one as you can see, but I do like it.  Let me know what you think about it.  Also don't forget to fly on over to EIM and check out the rest of the great art there.

As I write this I am reminded that 6 years ago today, I lost my best friend and soul mate.  Robert; my late husband; was always supportive of my beading.  He always knew it calmed me down and gave me great comfort.  When I was so stressed out that I had issues with my PTSD he would tell me to go to our room and play or just hold my beads.  He so knew that would center me and calm me down as much as prayer does.  I think that he would be proud of what I am doing with my beads.

He always wanted to be able to have a passion like I have with beads.  But growing up he was always pushed away from being creative (by his father who felt that was not something that men did), which always saddens me, so my thought to everyone who is reading this is please don't ignore your creative voices.  Even if you have to stop what you are doing and take time to write down something or draw something for later on, then please do it.  If you have someone in your life who seems interested in something creative, please encourage them.  You never know where it will take them.  Have a blessed and creative week my friends.

Emotions Run Wild This Weekend

Thanks for stopping by the nest this week.  This weekend I had a 3 day weekend, and it was supposed to be drama-free and relaxing.  But just as all well laid plans, this one was not completely meant to be.  I seemed to sleep most of Friday.  Which is ok LOL.  Saturday started out great, My daughter started a new job, YAY!  Then things kinda went down from there.  My daughter told me that she felt like her car roof is leaking!  ARG!!!  Then my driver side window went down and never went back up!  ARG!!!  It has fallen off the track and I am going to have to go first thing in the morning to see if they can fix it.  Hopefully not for an arm and a leg!

But for now, I just want to look at pretty beads, how about you?  This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Emotion, and this one surely gives out my emotions this weekend for sure.

For this inchie I used 3 colors of Delicas, sadly it is not to visible in the picture but the outlining and eyes are done in a silver-lined green, and the silver lined orange of the face is not that discernible.  But I still  like how it came out.  GRRRRRRR!  Kinda how I feel at the moment!  LOL

Also this week, over at 2x2x2, the theme is 9 patch.  I did not completely know what a 9 patch was.  I figured it has something to do with quilting, and it does.  Nine Patch quilts are the kind that have a 9 squared design in a single design square of a repetitive design in a quilt.  But, it is also a stretchable, repeatable images reduced to their smallest size.  Most commonly used in Android devices.

But for me this week I went the quilt route.  I designed my twinchie from a quilt pattern that I saw online.  I originally made this design using 4 colors of Delicas.  One of which was supposed to be blue.  But when it came time to make the piece I found that I did not have enough of the blue that I wanted to use so I grabbed another opaque color that I thought would work out just as well.  Green.  It did not dawn on me until I was about 4-5 rows in that the colors that I chose were the colors of the Green Bay Packers.  As a loyal Illinoisan I am not a big fan of the "cheese heads"  I may not have teams that win all the time (or sports that I follow, like football, but whatever)but still they are not cheese heads!  I am a self admitting "flat lander" and I am not ashamed!

But anyway, here is my Twinchie. Despite the colors I hope that you like it.

You may notice that I did this and the last twinchie out of order.  I skipped last times and did this one instead, but I did fix that last week, so the next time, (in 2 weeks)  I will be back on the right track with them.  This isn't the first time I have messed up and it wont be the last time, of that I am sure!  

I do hope that you have a blessed and creative week, and thank you for leaving me a comment, it means alot to me.  Also, if you are interested in joining in the fun over at EIM  or 2x2x2 just follow the links and check them out, we would love to have you join in. 

What is IS and other things of texture.

Hiya everyone and thanks for stopping by the nest this week.  I have been trying to work on Christmas ornaments, (STILL)!  But in between those times I have finished my Inchie this week.  The theme this week is a difficult one to portray in beads.  The theme over at Every Inchie Monday is texture.  I was originally going to use opaque and matte beads but I was afraid that the  camera would not pick it up so I changed the colors.  I used a light blue that I also used in this week's twinchie and a metallic bluish color.  I designed it in a lattice pattern.  Hope you like it.

Last week I was supposed to do a twinchie, and I actually did the wrong one.    So I will wait to show that until next week.  But Cheryl over at 2x2x2 was kind enough to extend time for those of us who missed the deadline, apparently I was not the only one.  Last weeks theme was IS.  But I was really excited to get this one done.  I have actually waited for it for some time. I love the ideal behind the theme.  

For me, the take on the theme IS was so clear.  1 Corinthians 13:13: So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these IS love.  So for my IS twinchie I redid a pattern that I created for a Stethoscope bead for the nurse that took care of my daughter after her surgery last year.  It has a cross, a rainbow, and a dove; faith, hope and love. 

For it I used 10 colors of delicas.  Most of the colors are in the rainbow.  The camera does not pick up the colors properly but there are 7 colors in it.  I really love this pattern.  It always gives me such peace when I bead it.  I know it is because of the meaning of the pattern, but I do just enjoy beading it.  Here it is, I hope that you like it.  

Thanks for stopping by the nest today and thanks for all the great comments that you have left.  If you think that you would like to join in on the inchie and twinchie fun just click on the links and join in, we would love to have you join and see what awesome ideas you come up with.  Have a blessed and creative week.

A few things this week.

Hiya everyone and thanks for stopping by the nest.  This week I have a few things to show off and one that will have to wait.  It has to wait because over at 2x2x2 I beaded the wrong themed design!  ARG!  So for now I am going to be behind one of the twinchies, and kicking myself since this is not the first time I have done this!  Sheesh!

So lets start on the things that I can show you.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is yogurt.  This was an easy one to design.  I just made a nice bowl of strawberry yogurt.  

In this inchie I used  colors of Delicas.  It is hard to see it in this picture but there is a silver spoon dipped into 2 colors of strawberry yogurt, sitting on top of a 2 tone purple bowl.  Sadly, those colors are not showing in this picture.  But I still like how it came out.  

Also this week I made a bracelet for the monthly challenge over at the Facebook group Dry Gulch October Challenge.  There is still time to join in if you want.  All you have to do is to use the color palette and make anything you want.  First place is a $50 gift certificate and second place is a $25 gift certificate.  

In this double spiral bracelet I used 4mm black round beads, silver and golden 11/0 seed beads, and grey and orange fire polished beads.  I closed it off with a bronze colored mag-loc magnetic clasp.  I really like it and it lays well on my wrist.  

Well, this weekend my sister and 2 brothers came to town to pack up all my Mom's stuff and take it back to Illinois.  I was reminded of something while my Sister was here.  You know how all kinds of people will try to trick you and you never fall for it?  For example, someone touches your shirt and says, "Hey, whats this?" and when you look down they pop your nose.  Yea that is what I am talking about.  No matter how many times someone might try to trick you, you just know better and don't fall for it.  But when a sibling does something like that you fall for it EVERYTIME!  My sister was looking at this horrible lamp/table monstrosity that my Mother seems to love and she announces,"The first person to say 'what' gets to keep the lamp/table thing!"  So of course who says 'what',.... yep, yours truly!  Sheesh!  

Anyone else would have said that and I would have been like. "forget it!"  But that is not how it goes with siblings.  Then came Saturday afternoon and they all had to go back home, and they took the horrible lamp/table monstrosity with them!  Man I miss them, my siblings, not the table!  LOL.  

Are there things that your siblings end up getting over on you?  Or do you have a family "heirloom"  that should really stay hidden?  If so, share with the rest of the class.  Also, don't forget to fly on over to EIM, 2x2x2, or Dry Gulch to participate with all of us.  Have a blessed and creative week my friends.

Creativity is the Key

Hiya everyone and thanks for stopping by the nest this week.  I have suddenly gotten a bit of creativity as of lately.  I have been working on a few Facebook group challenges, none done as of yet. Also, I have been working on Christmas ornaments, slowly, but I have been working on them.

It seems that this time of year I get really creative, mostly because I have to get Christmas ornaments done and like every year I seem to procrastinate on them.  Why do we do that?  I am not sure but I wish I could figure it out.  Maybe I will look into it tomorrow, or maybe the next day?  Hmmm, I think I am seeing a pattern here.

This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Key.  I have to say I love old skeleton keys.  They are so ornate and always make me think of Victorian times.  They also remind me of secrets.  Secret safes, boxes and special places that Victorian women used to hide special letters from their lovers.  Maybe I am reading too much into a key, ya think?  Probably, but still I like those thoughts.  Makes me smile more than thinking of keys as a device used to hide things from people that we just don't trust.

With this inchie I used 2 colors of Delicas.  I designed 2 keys laying opposite to each other.  Hope you like them.

Also this week I followed some instructions from a Facebook group and made my own Bead on it Board.  Mine is similar to the $120 one.  But mine cost about $12.  90% off the price and I really like mine.  I made it from a pet bed, foam core, and a bead mat.  I really like it alot.  Check this out.

This week I also got a new loom.   I have been wanting to get it and try and see if it was any good.  I really like it.  It is called the Clover mini bead loom.  Here is what it looks like.

It took a bit to catch on to the beading of it and I messed up my tension on one side but that was just me and not the loom itself.   But I like it and will be using it again.  The thing about this loom is that it only does small work, work that is 1" x 2" or less.  So of course I had to play with it and I designed and made this small inchie amulet.  In this amulet I used 7 colors of Metallic Delicas.  I have yet to figure out the necklace part, but that isn't the important part, is it?  LOL

Isn't it cute?  I think so.  Lastly, this week I had an idea for something. A pendant maybe, I just had the idea and wanted to figure out how to work it out.  After 2 tries I got it.  

I used 8/0 seed beads, 11/0 seed beads, 2-hole triangles, and a gemstone coin bead.  I really like this.  It looks like what I wanted it to look like.  Now I just have to figure out a way to attach it to something; a necklace or a bracelet.  But for now I just like the look of it.  

Now time to get back to the Christmas ornaments.  Please check out EIM and see what other keys the artists have come up with this week, and thanks for leaving the comments, it really brightens up my day.  Have a blessed and creative week.

A few bits of beadwork this week.

Hiya everyone an thanks for stopping by the nest this week.  I am really glad that you stopped by. This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Lumberjack.  This was not an easy theme to work with for sure.  

There are tons of lumber companies here in Arkansas.  My uncle used to be a logger (formerly called lumberjacks) and I can tell you that for sure it is really one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.  I know that my uncle had toppled over inside of a crane and also had a tree fall on him.  All of this just so that we can have the wood we need to build with.  

But with all of that in mind I still couldn't figure anything out to design.  Then it finally hit me, what is the one thing that ALL lumberjacks have in common?  Plaid!!!!  LOL  So here it is!

 For this inchie I used 3 colors, an opaque black, a matte red and a matte transparent grey.  I like it, I like the color mash-up.

Also this week over at 2x2x2 the theme is Hot.  I figured out what I was gonna do for this one immediately.  For some reason I am really interested in hot air balloons.  So I decided to show off a hot air balloon in air as the sun sets.  Hope you like it.

For this twinchie I used 9 colors of delicas.  The picture does not show off that the background orange color is actually a matte and an opaque orange but still I like the look of it.

This is all I have this week, but don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out the great artwork over there and if you want to join in I would love to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a message, and have a blessed and creative week.

Beady Time and a New Inchie

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by.  This week I was really motivated to do some bead work. Normally I am really too tired and mentally worn out from work to do too much more than my inchie each week.  Which is super sucky!  Why can't I win the lottery so I can devote my time to my bead work???  Oh well, until that day I will just keep trying to enjoy the few moments of beading that I can get to get.

This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Hotel. I think the last time I stayed in a hotel was back in 2001.  So it has been forever.   I actually got a job as a housekeeper at a hotel once.  I worked for 1 week and then the hotel closed its doors!  Why hire me if you are shutting the doors?  Oh well.  LOL

For my inchie I decided to go with the icon theme again.  I have used it a few times when there is no creative flow coming to mind.  In my inchie I used 2 colors of Delicas.  Some of my most used colors, Opaque black and white. I was also real happy that I was able to write the theme on my inchie as well.

As you can see the word HoTeL is on there.  Sadly it had to be wrote that way so that I could add it to the inchie.  Also on this inchie is a bed with a person laying on it.  It is a match of the Icon that you can see on Highways letting you know there are hotels coming up.  Hope you like it.

Also this week I mentioned that I had time to do some more beadwork.  I decided to make a necklace using some sea glass that I have had for some time.  To it I added some Metallic AB 11/0 seed beads.  I am still debating on adding more seed beads to the sea glass but for ow this is how it looks.

Here is a close up of the necklace.

Also this week I wanted to finish a Facebook challenge from one of my bead groups.  You can check it out here.  Also you can join in this month or for the next month if you would like.  Here is the bracelet that I made for the challenge.

Here is a close-up of the beads.

In this bracelet I used 15/0 frosted seed beads, Blue 3mm bicones, grey silky 2-hole beads and silver/black 2-hole rulla beads.  The clasp is a silver Mag-Lock magnetic clasp.  I really love this bracelet and how it feels on my wrist.

I hope that this week I will get more time to bead.  I still need to get back to the Christmas ornaments.  Also there are some great challenges on the Facebook groups that I am in and I would love to have the time to work on them.  I hope that you all have a blessed and creative week, and don't forget to fly on over to EIM and check out the great hotels over there!

No Myth in Letting Them Eat Cake!

Hiya everyone and thanks for stopping by the nest this week.  I am happy to say that I am feeling better this week than I did last week.  So much so that I made a new bracelet.  Which was the first beadwork I have done besides Inchies and Twinchies, of course, in forever!  (at least it seems so).  I took up the challenges from 2 of the Facebook groups that I am a part of for this bracelet.  In the group Seed Beads and More the challenge was to make a flat spiral piece of beadwork, and in the group Beadwork Mentoring  the challenge was to use black and white and 1 more color in beading.  So I merged the 2 challenges and made this bracelet.  A Double flat spiral

 

For this bracelet I used 6mm black opaque rounds, 8/0 opaque white seed beads, 11/0 light turquoise seed beads, and opaque white super duos.  The clasp was actually one I got here.  This is a mix of components and inside it was 2 different tones of metal box clasp.  But since neither one of them had the other part and they fit together I figured, "Why not?!?"  I love the feeling of this stitch and this bracelet.  It is really fun to wear. 


This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Myth.  There are way too many myths to design about but the one I really wanted to make was one that was a joke at our house, and I actually forgot all about until this theme came up.  We used to live in a trailer that had a pond behind it, and occasionally, you could see something come up out of the water.  Some people said it was an alligator, some said it was a branch that was moved by a fish, some said it was a big water moccasin, still others thought it might be a cousin of "Nessie", the Loch Ness Monster.  I really did not want to know what it was and I did not want it to come out of the water, lol.  So here is my inchie.

For this inchie I used 4 colors of Delicas, and as you can see it is a "Nessie"  in the water, just kinda hanging out, lol.

Also, over at 2x2x2 the theme is Cake.  Now this theme was perfect for this week (even though I designed my twinchie a few months ago).  My daughters best friend came back to Arkansas from Arizona for a wedding of their high school classmates.  What a perfect reason for cake.  Actually the fact that you woke up this morning is a perfect reason for cake!  Who doesn't love cake?!? 

For this Twinchie I meant for this wedding cake to look like the beautiful ones that I see in cake blogs.  I used 4 colors of delicas in this one and tried to make it look like those beautiful expensive decorator cakes.  Hope you like it.
This is me for this week.  I have a necklace in the works, but it is not done at this time so I will show it off next week.  Thanks for stopping by an leaving me great comments.  I love them all.  Also, don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 an check out all the artwork over there. 

Have a blessed and creative week.

I've Got Rhythm!

I hope that everyone is having a good week.  Mine has started off on a bad foot.  I have a cold that I am fighting with.  But I do think I am winning, so that is good.  God bless this weather! 

This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Rhythm.  Which is something I have not had alot of this week!  But I finally got my inchie done this week.  I know it is still technically Monday but it feels like I am late on this as I usually post on Sunday.  Before I show my inchie I want to show you a bit of Gene, Kelley that is.  He is always been a good looking man to me.  So sit back and watch this.  :)

Love this guy.  How I wished I could have danced with him when I was a kid!  Talk about heavenly.  Sigh!

Anyways, where was I?  Oh yea, my inchie, haha.  Here ya go. 

My daughter did not know what this was until I told her and even then she still did not know it.  So I  am not too sure that you all will see it but if you do then cool.  If not, then cool!  In this inchie I used 2 colors of delicas, made into the form of a boom box, or a Rhythm box as some people called it.  Can you see it??  LOL

Well either way, thanks for stopping by and thanks for leaving me a comment, they are always appreciated, and don't forget to fly on over to EIM and check out all the rhythm over there.

Have a blessed and creative (and healthy!)  week.

Ear Ye, Ear Ye, it is time for a new Treasure.

Hiya everyone, I hope that you are all enjoying the 3 day weekend here in America.  Happy Labor Day.  Did you go buy a mattress?  I really couldn't find out the true reason for so many Labor Day mattress sales but I think it is because so many people are off work that it is the best time to get them to spend the money on an expensive mattress.  Also, get them to celebrate their "labors" by buying a new mattress!

I hate to admit it but I am one of the many who took advantage of Labor Day sales, I got a new push mower.  Well, I bought my Son a new push mower.  He loves to mow the grass.  Remember my last Twinchie, 2 weeks ago?  If not check it out here.

This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is "Ear",  I thought about making an ear with an earring on it, I also thought about making just an earring.  But of course, I did not go that way!  I decided to go with a play on words.  Back in the day, when you went to court there was someone who got your attention by saying "Hear ye, hear ye."  so that was my inspiration for this weeks inchie.

For this inchie I used 3 colors and if you can't tell it is a judges gavel and block.  LOL  I know, now you get the "Ear ye, Ear ye!" 

Also this week is Twinchie week.  Over at 2x2x2 they have a challenge every other week and this weeks theme is "Treasure".  I had a lot of fun with this one.  I have always wanted to go on a treasure hunt.  Who hasn't?  But what is the first thing you need for a treasure hunt?  A map, of course.  So that is what I made.  Check this out.

I took this design from an old treasure map.  I even added the ship, the trail to take, a forest and housing. Also a compass in the bottom left corner and of course don't forget the big red "X".  This design uses 8 colors of Delicas and I had a lot of fun designing this one and beading it up.  

So that is it for me this week, don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 and check out the great designs there and who knows, maybe you will want to join in.  We would love it if you did. 

Have a blessed and creative week and thank you to all those who read and post on my blog.  I am really blessed by your comments. 

Necklaces, Ornaments and Challenges

Hiya everyone and thanks for stopping by.  This week I have been so sore and tired!  I think it has to do with the start of the changing of the weather.  My shoulder has been in so much pain this week and of course my knee has been angry at me this week, more on that later.  Also, I think that work has been beating me up as well! Thanks work!  lol. 

If you have been reading recently you know I lost some weight; I want to continue riding that wave all the way to my goal weight.  So this week I also started a 30 day personal challenge.  I want to walk every day.  Yesterday I did not get much in but I walked.  I started on Tuesday, which was after 2 weeks of non-activity.  I think I was proud of myself for losing the 30 pounds and decided to revert back to my old habits.  No more!  I have to be accountable to someone so I am writing it here.

I wear a pedometer while I am on the treadmill and I wear it at work.  I have now gotten up to 20 minutes on the treadmill.  I don't want to go more than that right now for fear o hurting my knee.  I also think that all this walking is making my knee act up.  But I am not gonna let that stop me from walking. 

This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Necklace.  I have been making more necklaces this year than I have before.  I am just to impatient to wait the time it takes to make a necklace, lol.  But this is a quick and easy one for me to make. 

For this inchie I used 5 colors including copper seed beads as the chain.  I wanted this to be one of those beautiful golden necklaces with a huge sapphire stone on it, on it's way to a red carpet gala.  So what do you think?  Do you see the mess-up?  I did not until just now!  ARGGG!!!!  Makes me so mad, lol.  But that is ok.  The Native Indians believe that all beadwork should have a spirit bead in it, a bead that does not fit in the design, wrong color or placement.  So I will call this my spirit bead. 


Also this week I finalized this years Christmas ornament design.  Sadly I cant show it here since some of my family reads this blog and I want it to be a surprise to them.  I did also finish the Christmas earring designs for the ladies at work.  That I can show you. 

This is a pattern from here.  It works up quickly and I added the crystal bicone in the middle of the earring as an extra bling. 

So that is it for me this week.  Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and check out all the great necklaces they have created.  Have a blessed and creative week.

This week over at the nest.

Hiya everyone, and thanks for stopping by.  This last week has been a long rough one.  Work has been very rough and when I was not completely worn out I have been working on this years Christmas ornament.  I think I finally have the design figured out.  But I can't show you all here yet since some of my family read my blog (hopefully LOL).

I did carve out some time to work on my challenges for this week.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme was Pavilion.  My first thought was the pavilions that we used to have family reunions at the city parks.  I just remember my brother cooking the food and everyone eating and talking, kids running around, someone playing music and tons of pictures being taken.  Two of which are so much my favorite.  One is of my daughter who fell asleep in the dirt.  She literally fell asleep while playing.

 This picture is very old, she was about 6 years old, now she is 23!  The other one is a picture of my Mom, me and my siblings.  It was the last picture we all had together.  This is totally us as a family.  LOL

I am the one standing up between my brother Tom and my sister Vicki, my Mom is the one sitting down next to my brother Larry.  As you can tell me and my Mom are kinda camera shy ;)  See that smile on Vick's face?  She is smiling like that cuz she knew better than to stand next to Tom!  LOL  Here is my inchie. 

I used 6 colors of Delicas and I hope that you can tell that this is a light over a green picnic table inside of a pavilion.


Now, over at 2x2x2 the theme is Grass.  You know what, when we moved into our house there was this weird small patch of grass in the front yard, it was yellow in the winter and soft and lush (thistle free) in the summer, over the years it has gotten bigger and I adore that part of the yard.  Best part (even better than not having thistles?!?)  is that it grows slowly and doesn't need to be cut as often! 

So this idea came easily for me.  There was not any other possible thing I could design. 

This Twinchie also has 6 colors of Delicas in it and if you can't tell it is a push mower.  This one is for my Son who really enjoys mowing!  Well, to each his own!  I don't mind it if he does the mowing, LOL.

So that is it for me this week and I want to thank everyone for visiting me and extra thanks for those who leave comments.  I always love to read what you think.  Also, don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out the awesome works over there and hey if you are up to the challenges why not join them?  I would love to see what you come up with.