Wherein We Dream of the Ocean

This is not an icicle...

'Tis the season of single digit temperatures and unforgiving wind chill factors.  The kind of weather when you step outside and rediscover your most colorful language.  For a Southern girl, I'm dealing with it just fine -- nothing a few extra layers of clothing and a giant puffy down coat can't help with.

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't welcome a whirlwind trip to a warm tropical beach right about now.

Of course, my bank account might differ with that dream, so I'll channel my tropical fantasy into some beady fun.

In the last ZNet Shows design outing, I got some really fun light turquoise cultured sea glass spikes, like the one in the picture at the top of this post. The color looks like the water in the Gulf of Mexico off the Alabama coast. The beads have two holes, and the base is slightly squared off rather than perfectly round, so I always wanted to experiment with using them in a beadweaving style.

It's fun, it's breezy, and it's nothing complicated. I loved being able to use these spikes in a modified right angle weave. 

You can get an idea of the height of the spikes, and you can see the second hole (which I didn't use in all cases)

Even if I can't sink my toes into some warm sand while sipping on a cool and fruity beverage, this necklace makes me think of summer. It'll look great with my puffy down coat, too!

Getting Ready To Swap

I just signed up for a new (to me) bead swap and blog hop.  I look forward to taking part in this, to meeting a new beady friend, and to being challenged by a palette chosen by another artist.

And of course, I always enjoy the opportunity to obsessively check on my mail, awaiting new beads! Perhaps I should warn my mailman that the crazy bead lady is in his future.....

Hooray! BSBP 9!

Okay, y'all, 2016 is already looking pretty fabulous -- there will be another Bead Soup Blog Party!

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!

Yep, These Colors Will Show Up In Some Jewelry Soon

While at a holiday concert yesterday, I couldn't help myself -- I had to take a picture of the spectacular stained glass window serving as a backdrop for the performance.

What gorgeous colors, and what a fantastic combination of shades and hues!  And this was taken fairly late in the afternoon.  Imagine what it looks like with full sun shining through!  I'm not sure if it'll work, but try clicking on the picture to see if you can see a larger version.

These colors will be an inspiration for a beaded piece (or six) in the near future.

ATTS8 - It's In The Bag!

The fabulous ladies from Therese's Treasures and One Kiss Creations challenged a group of us with the task of making a beaded purse. A big challenge, for sure. And they gave us several months to prepare our projects.

Many thoughts came to mind. A peyote amulet bag? A leather pouch with embroidery? Embroidering on an existing purse? So many, many options!

Here's a sneak peek I gave last week - did you guess what it was going to lead to?

At my job, I have to use a key card to get into most of the offices and secure spaces. And because it's a performing arts organizations, I often have to work at concerts. Toting around a very official looking key card on a lanyard when you're wearing a fancy dress isn't always the best look. So I decided to see if I could combine the need to camouflage the very functional realities of my workday with this creative beading challenge. Thus, the beaded key card purse!

I started with a basic plastic card holder, to which I affixed snaps on the back.

Pretty, ain't it?

Then I embroidered a couple of interchangeable decorative panels with snaps on their backs, to switch out as needed. The first one was an easy choice - I had done some bead embroidery around a violin bridge several years ago for another challenge, inspired by music.

At the time, I thought I'd make it into a necklace, but that never happened. So it became the first front panel of my beaded key card case.

Then, because I am apparently from the school of "why just "do" when you can overdo?", I decided to make another cover. Sadly, this one didn't get its edging completed, but here it is anyway.

And here it is, with its beaded fob (aha! the sneak peek!)

I can't wait to use these at work. If I don't have a waistband for the fob to attach to, I can carry these in my hand, almost like a small clutch purse.

Here they are, all together.

And in case you're interested in seeing the mechanics of it all, here's the backside.

I'm pretty sure I've taken an unorthodox approach to the beaded purse challenge.  Want to see what everyone else has created? Go check it out through the links below, and thanks to Therese and Christine for organizing this challenge to get me off my beady butt and doing something new!

Therese

Christine

Jenny

Bobbie

Ana

Amy

Cynthia

Karin S

Maryanne

Liz

Lori

Paula

Jasvanti

Dagi

Kepi

Samantha

Alicia

Motidana

Becky

Winter Expo Preparations

Over the weekend, I tagged, bagged, and delivered over 70 pieces of jewelry for a month-long show and sale at the Evanston Art Center. Yes, that's 70+ pieces - 39 pairs of earrings, 31 necklaces, and 4 bracelets. Whew!  There's a little bit of everything here - big fancy statement pieces to simple fun pendants.

This is a juried show, and I'm still relatively new to the area, so I'm especially excited to be part of this event. For more information, go here.

If you're in the area, please come see the show!  Below are some of the pieces included:

Earrings, earrings, earrings!

ATTS8 - Sneak Peek!

Working, working, working....

I'm stitching furiously to finish up in time for the reveal of the eighth installment of A Time To Stitch next Saturday.  Until then, here's a little sneak peek of what's coming!