Talk About Spirals!

I am running late this week.  So much is going on.  To start off, I have had a leaky faucet in the tub which has been getting worse so I decided to fix it, on my own.  Followed shortly by a call to a plumber to fix my mis-fixings!  After 16 hours with no water he finally got here.  Yea great start to the week!  

If you have been reading my blog for some time you might remember me mentioning about on of my cats swallowing my beadwork, thread and needle.  Ever since then I have been very careful about protecting my needles from the cats.  That is until the plumber came.......  The other cat, decided to eat a needle.  At least we think she has.  I am praying that she has not and the needle has somehow flown the coop.  But for now we are keeping an eye on her and in the morning I will be taking her to the vet to have her checked out.  So please say a prayer for her.

This has actually hit me pretty hard.  I mean it is my fault and I feel awful since this cat is my daughters favorite.  So right now I am a bit torn up.  Kinda feel like I am in a spiral.  (see how I did that?)  Yea kinda cheesy but it did make me smile a bit.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Spiral  and here is mine.

That is it for me this week.  Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and check out whats going on and have a blessed and creative week my friends.

My Heart is Raining Love

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by the nest this week.  This has been a bit difficult week around here.  My daughter got a flat tire on her way to work.  But was blessed by a gentleman who helped her change it so she could get to work.  After work she ended up getting a oil change and a new tire.  Saturday my rear drivers side passenger window broke and would not move up and down.  YAY!  The part to fix it will be over $300 so for now I rednecked it, by using what else, Duct Tape!  lol  Sad thing is, my car does not stick out with the duct tape on it.  It actually blends in!  HAHA.  I feel suddenly accepted.

But those things were actually overshadowed by the tragedy in Dallas.  I am saddened by the huge loss of life this summer in these public attacks.  First in Orlando and now in Dallas.  Even though we don't know any one in either city, both kinda hit me hard.  Even more so after I found out that my son's girlfriend was on an Upward Bound summer trip to Dallas.  She was actually about 1 mile away from the shooting and could hear everything.  The group was not able to leave Dallas for a few days and so we all were very nervous for her and the rest of the kids; all high school kids.

All of this lead me to change my design for this weeks theme over at 2x2x2.  The theme is Heart.  Originally I wanted to do hearts with wings on it but I suddenly got the idea to make a bit of a tribute piece for my twinchie.

 For this piece I used a white and black hand in a heart shaped handshake, with the background of the American flag, taken from my Tradition twinchie found here. I really love how this came out.  I do hope that we all can find peace, love and understanding and equality for all.

Also this week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Rain.  For this one I decided to make something pretty.  A rain cloud over a blooming flower.  Hope that you like it.

That is it for me this week.  Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out the great works over there and while you are there check out the upcoming themes and join in!

Hug your family, smile at a warm breeze, shake a strangers hands and please have a blessed and creative week.

Happy 4th, an Inchie and a Tribute

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by.  Happy Birthday America!!! I hope that everyone got their fill of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and fireworks!  I know here they sell fireworks all over the place, so tomorrow and the rest of the week we will hear fireworks all over the place, but whatever!  LOL

So let's get into it shall we?  This week over at Every Inchie Monday the theme was Computer.  I had originally decided on doing a computer mouse, since I still use one even on my laptop.  I really hate the finger pad thing.  Makes designing a PITA!  But, it just did not look right.  Since I really like Tetris I took a screen grab from the game and designed that.  But when it came to beading it earlier today I just did not feel like messing with 10 different colors!  LOL  just call me lazy.

So I wracked my brain and finally came up with this design, a simple inchie with a deeper meaning.   Computers used to be for work situations and design programs.  Nowadays when we think about computers its all about surfing the web and social media.  So this is where my thought process went with this inchie.

In  this inchie I used 2 colors of Delicas and if you can't tell it is WWW two times.  Funny how 20 years ago if someone said WWW.something.com we would all look at them like they were speaking a foreign language.  Now it seems foreign if you don't have an email or some form of WWW attached to you in some way.  LOL  We have come a long way, baby!

Also this week I finally sat down and did a tribute piece that I have been meaning to get to ever since I designed it.  After the Orlando tragedy I felt the need to express my feelings and support in one of the only ways I know how (next to many prayers).  In beads.  I felt this design come to me one day at work and I quickly ran and wrote it down, once I got home I designed it but I had a few other things ahead of it.  Then I felt that it was a bit late to make it but I still felt the need to make it.  So here it is.

This piece is 1.5 x 1.5, and has a heart beat going through it representing the night club, Pulse.  There is also the colors of the rainbow which is a common color theme for the LGTB community. There is also 49 "stars" in this to commemorate the 49 lives lost.  I like how it came out; I just wish there was never a need to make this.  I pray for the people who were touched and hurt by this troubling incident.

Lastly, I would like to urge everyone who has not checked out EIM or 2x2x2 to go and check them out.  They are 2 great blogs with awesome challenges to stretch your creativity.  Have a blessed and creative week my friends.

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat and Physics

Hey everyone.  I hope that this finds you well.  I have had a bit of a pissy weekend. So the physics of my weekend were no victory for me.  ;)  Get it?!  LOL  Maybe you will after you read this.  I think that the themes over at Every Inchie Monday and 2x2x2 this week are very fitting for me.  

The theme over at EIM is Physics.  Physics is the study of matter and motion.  There was a lot of matter and motion on my part this weekend.  Mostly me throwing some beadwork and for that matter me crying!  But before I get to that let me show my inchie.

 

With this inchie I used 2 colors of delicas and it may be hard to see but it is the symbol for physics.  

Also this week over at 2x2x2 the them is Victory.  We all want to have a victory don't we?  This one is a victory, at least I am calling it that.  

There is 5 colors in this twinchie.  I took the idea of this one from the movie V for Vendetta.  But I had to add one of my favorite colors to the background.  I did use 4 colors of orange for this along with the dark color which looks like it is black but it is smoke colored, lol.  

OK, so now to get to my thrill of victory and agony of defeat.  Since many of you are crafters like myself you will understand this.  You know when you have many colors for a project and you feel so good when you get done using one of the colors.  Almost like you did something significant.  C'mon, I know that I am not the only one who feels that way!  I thought so!  Well, I was working on the back of my amulet bag and was going faster and faster as I was getting close to finishing a color.  Then, it happened!  

I saw something that changed everything.  You know when you are working from a known design, something that you see often?  You know when you see that design and think nothing of it, then all of a sudden you see the design and realize the worst of the worst things.  That you were using the WRONG COLORS!!!  ARGGGGGGGGG!  Which makes the news even worse is the fact that you just finished a color!  

Sooooooo!  What does this mean.  It means that I had finished a third of the back of the amulet bag and then realized that I was using the wrong colors and now have to start.all.over.again!  So I don't think that I will be getting the amulet bag done in time but I will get it done.  Better late then never I guess. 

So my victory was that I finished a color!  And the agony of defeat was having to undo all that bead work!  On the bright side, I did not have to tumble down a ski slope to feel this!  Also on the bright side don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out the great art work and maybe jump in and join in the fun!

 

How About A Party?

Hey everyone, I hope this finds you well.  I only have a small amount to show off this week.  I have been furiously working on a project from one of the Facebook groups, All About Beadweaving.  The challenge was to make an amulet bag.  The challenge started in the beginning of April.  I designed the pattern and decided that since it was going to be a bit big that I would use small 15/0 seed beads.  My inchies are 11/0's.  Last year on my blog I posted a pattern showing the differences in the sizes of Delica beads that I use.  Remember this?

The first tiny square is the 15/0 and the second one is the 11/0 that I use.  See the difference in sizes.  So I figured that using the 15's would take off about a fourth of the size,  Great idea, right?  I thought so.  So I ordered all the beads for the amulet bag (spent quite a bit on them!).  Then I had to wait for the beads to get here so I started the K-cycle.  Once I was into that then all other projects were on hold, except my inchies and twinchies.  The beads came in and I went to work.  Got about 1/4th of the way done on the first side and had to stop to do a commission piece for a friend.  Finally I got to get back to it and guess what?

Well, I am gonna tell you since I know you wont guess it.  I would not have guessed it if I had tried.  Somehow the beads that I spent so much money and time on seemed to be gritty on the inside of the beads and as I was beading I either broke a bead or the thread!  I was so mad that I had to walk away for about a week.  By now it is June 12th.  Did I forget to mention that the challenge ends July 1st.  Oh yea, theres that!  So I put my crafty big gurl pants on and got to it.  I had to start all over with 11's.  I know that it will be bigger than I want but it will be sturdy and wont break.  So I just finished the first side today.  I still have to do the back side, the necklace and the fringe, which will be 5 feathers.  Wish me luck haha.

After all of this I decided that I deserved a party, well Every Inchie Monday agreed with me, since the theme this week is Party!  If you have been reading my blog for some time you know that when I get the next years list at the end of the previous year I go to work designing patterns.  I have to make sure that I have the beads and that I can get the pattern done in time for the due date.  So my patterns are designed many months in advance, but they are beaded up the week they are due.  So last year when I got this theme I just knew what I was going to design.  It just seems slightly timely.

I decided to make the year 1999.  Beaded in purple.  All for the late singer Prince.  Who knew when I designed it last year that he would be gone by this time.  Crazy how that happens, and it has happened more than once.  So without further ado here is my inchie.  I used 2 colors of Delicas hope you like it and as Wayne would say, "Party on!"

Have a blessed an creative day my friends.  Don't forget to fly on over to EIM and 2x2x2 to check out the amazing art and the upcoming themes.

I Can't Think of Anything Catchy to Say!

I woke up Sunday morning and, like many of you, turned on the TV and saw the horrible news reports from Orlando, Florida.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected by the shootings.  I am really taken aback by this.  I can not see why anyone would want to do this.  So I pray for all of these people and I pray that we as a nation can work through this tragedy.

Now onto this weeks artwork.  Over at Every Inchie Monday the theme is Radio.  My first thought was seeing families sitting around the radio listening to shows and news, as this WAS their TV before TV existed.  So I designed one of those old timey radios, using 4 colors of Delicas.  I love the look of those old radios so this one makes me happy.

Also this week over at 2x2x2 the theme is Diamond.  My first thought was an art deco take on the Hope Diamond.  I used 3 colors of Delicas.  I wish the picture did the silver lined blue beads justice.  

That is it for me this week.  I wish I had a catchy theme or some sarcastic awesomeness to throw down on everybody but this week my heart hurts so much for what has happened to Orlando this week.  Again, I pray for those who lost their lives or were injured in this awful tragedy.  I pray that we will all learn to love more and hate less.  We are one humanity, one planet, one life! 

My friends, have a blessed and creative week.  Hug your babies and smile at a stranger.  Share love and be a blessing.

A Ghastly Loss of Internet

Hello everybody and thanks for stopping by.  I am finally glad to be able to write to you.  Last week we lost internet.  For the last month we have had issues with internet.  First, the modem that we had only had for around 4 months melted!  Yea, MELTED!  It basically over heated and melted the plastic on one side of the modem.  So we ordered a new one, and had to wait 3 days for that one to come.  Then it did not want to reach the whole house.  So we had to call and have a repairman come out and give us a new phone jack. We then had the modem in the middle of the house and everyone was happy.  That is until we were not.

Last Thursday we suddenly lost internet.  I thought it was the weather but that was not the case.  After being on hold forever I got tech support who had me try a few things unsuccessfully, and 50 minutes later had an appointment with the repairman for Tuesday!

If you have read my blog for a while you know that if something rare or weird could happen to someone it happens to ME!  So the repairman told me that he did not know how it happened but the modem quit talking to the box and had deleted all the commands it needed to get on to the internet.

So after a week with no internet the kids were going a bit crazy.  I just did some design work and beading.  Funny how much we rely on something so invisible to keep us amused.  One downside for me and my OCD is that I had over 700 emails.  Which my kids make fun of since both of them have over 2,000+ .  I think I would have a panic attack with that many unread emails.  God bless the delete button!

Now, onto happier and more Ghastly things.  Yerp, I said ghastly.  That is the word this week over at Every Inchie Monday.  For me this was an easy one.  My kids have grown up with Pokemon and other pocket monster-type games so I knew that there is a pokemon named Gastly.  So did many of the other artists at EIM.  When I told my kids about this pokemon they mentioned that maybe I should try to be different, (like when do I ever follow the path well traveled, you would think these kids don't know me!) and go with the Shiny Gastly.  Basically (from what I can tell) he is different colors from the regular Gastly.  So I figured, why not be different for once!  PFFFFTT!

Not really too much different and not sure you can tell by this picture the color difference.  But regular Gastly is black with a purple gas and Shiny Gastly is a dark purple with a blue gas.  Apparently that is important?!?  o.O

During my internet "purge" I was glad that I had already downloaded the B&B Extra that had some cool patterns in it and I was able to play with some new beads that I have had for some time but never found a way to use them.  I decided that I was going to make the necklace in the colors of my favorite sports team.  The Chicago Blackhawks. I am really excited about this as it will be going along with something I am doing later on as well.  Check this out.

The pendant is called Sparkling Star Flower Pendant, and the necklace is my own design.  The pendant uses two-hole piggy beads, 4 mm bicones, super duos, and 11/0 seed beads.  My necklace used the same 11/0 seed beads, super duos, and bicones but I also added O beads.  I really love this necklace, it really pops out and I love that it reminds me of the Blackhawks.  What do you think?

Well, that is it for me for this week.  If you think that my inchie isn't so Ghastly and are interested in doing an inch of artwork using this years theme of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy then fly on over to EIM and check out the list!  It is a real blast!  If you feel that you would love more than an inch of fun every week then fly on over to 2x2x2 and check out the twinchies, a 2 inch piece of artwork, bimonthly challenge.  Or be a wild and crazy artist, and try both!  Until next week, have a blessed and creative week my friends.