Focusing on Life:Saying Goodbye

Focusing on life has been the most interesting challenge I have ever done. It made me look at things differently. I cherish the friends that I have made on this adventure. Saying goobye is always hard. I kept trying to think of something more interesting than a hand waving which would not have looked good in a picture. I have heard the saying finish with a flourish. Friday morning when I opened my curtains Mother Nature had provided me with a flourish. I thought it was a fitting way to say goodbye so I grabbed my camera. I am so glad that Sally decided to extend this challenge. I will be seeing those of you who are joining the group next year. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. To see how everyone else is saying goodbye click on the link to Sally's blog http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/

Focusing on Life:Together

I know that I am late to the party this week. I went to visit my Mom for a couple of days. Sally's prompt this week was together. I can not think of a more charming couple than Santa and Mrs Santa. They are truly together for all time. This salt and pepper shaker set is one I am very fond of.. Sally has been such a wonderful hostess for this Focusing on Life. She seems to prompt us with the perfect words each week. I have really enjoyed checking in with all of the other participants each week. It has helped me be a better photographer and I gained  a better insight of myself. I am glad that Sally is extending this challenge for another year. I will be part of it next year too. Please checkout how all of the other participants photos for their take on togetherness at Sally's blog http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/  

Today is the reveal for the 3rd Annual Holiday Ornament Hop by our talented hostess Sally Russick of http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/. It is my first time in an ornament exchange. I have been making Christmas ornaments since the early 80's. I have embroidered, knit, beaded, painted, glued and framed ornaments. I thought that I would be too busy last year when I saw the sign-up's. When I looked at the hop ornaments that others had made I wished I would have joined in. I made sure to get in on the fun this year. Sally paired me with the one and only Lori Anderson of Bead Soup fame. She made me the most amazing ornament. The art bead is by Keysha Whitsel of https://www.etsy.com/shop/koyglass. Isn't it gorgeous?  Lori made a wire frame to showcase the awesome art bead and she embellished it with white pearls, aqua glass triangles, and rosy pink crystal bicones. The colors that she used are my favorites. When I opened my package it took my breath away. It is a one of a kind that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I am so lucky to have a Christmas ornament personalized for my by Lori. The picture that she sent is on top because she is a much better photographer than I am. The second photo I took and it includes the lovely rosy pink hand knitted scarf that she included in my package. I am so lucky.  Please got to http://www.prettythingsblog.com/to see the ornament that I made for her. If you want to see more great Christmas ornaments check out the link below http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/

Focusing on Life: A Pop of Red

A pop of red was the prompt for the Focusing on Life photo challenge. Since my Christmas decorations are up I saw red everywhere making it difficult to choose which photo to use. In the end I picked this ornament that I made in 2003. It was in Bead and Button magazine. That was before I did my own designs. I have a shelf above my tv and the ornament hangs there. For our 25th anniversary my husband took me to Niagara Falls. On the way there we stopped in Frankenmuth, Michigan at Bronner's Christmas Store (One of the largest Christmas Stores in the world) I purchased a pair of ornament turners when we were there that plug into a light strand. When the light strand is plugged in this ornament turns. The beads sparkle and shine with the movement. I love the satin finish red of this ornament and it is so beautiful when it moves.The focusing on life challenge that I have participated in this year has expanded my world in several ways. I know more about who I am. I take better photographs and best of all I connected with several other jewelry artists. I will miss my Saturday morning visits with all the other bloggers. I want to Thank Sally Russick of http://thestudiosublime.com/ for being a wonderful hostess and inspiring all of us to be better photographers and to look at things in a new way. To see where the other participants found pops of red please visit Sally's blog at the link above.

If you have been following my blog you know that I have been designing for http://www.znetshows.com . Today the winter 2013-2014 issue of the Glossi that they produce is available for viewing. It is called "Creative Spark."  The picture above is the cover. My pearl designs for the last challenge are part of this Glossi. To go along with the release Znetshows is having a giveaway of some of their beads and components. Their products are wonderful to work with. Here are the details about the giveaway  "

In the virtual pages you'll find over a HUNDRED designs from members of our design team who were given the 'challenge' of using pearls for this issue. In addition, there are four tutorials, a list of unique ways to sell your jewelry, peeks into our creative spaces, some funnies, and so much more. You should totally go take a look.

We'd also LOVE for you to share the Glossi with others via Social Media. As a matter of fact, we'll have a GIVEAWAY of some ZnetShows beads and components for those who share Creative Spark in some way. It's easy to do too. Once the Glossi loads, there are buttons on the right of it to share on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, G+, and Pinterest. Share Creative Spark in one of those ways and leave us a comment BELOW THE GLOSSI to let us know where you shared it (a link to your share would be great) and how to reach you (your e-mail) and you're entered for the Giveaway. (At this time, members of the Design Team are not eligible for the giveaway.) The giveaway will be open through the rest of this year!

So go, read, enjoy our latest venture and we'd love to know what you think and if it gives you a Creative Spark!" Here is the link to view Creative Spark http://glossi.com/CreativeSpark/75363-creative-spark-winter-13-14

Focusing on life:Add Some Sparkle

Sally picked a very appropriate theme this week. I am in the process of decorating my Christmas tree. Christmas trees have lots of sparkle. Last year my son bought me a Swarovski ornament. I have wanted one for a long time and I finally got one. To the left  of it you can see part of a shell tree that he brought me back from the west coast when he went on his high school graduation trip. To the right part of a beaded ornament that I made a couple of years ago. My tree is really special to me. My boys from a very young age knew that I liked Christmas ornaments so since my birthday is in the fall I often receive ornaments for my birthday.  I made it a habit to get an ornament when we went on a trip or had a special dinner out. I even go so far as to record them in a book as to who they came from and when I got or made them. In the early 80's we started making ornaments each year. We turned wooden ornaments, etched glass, embroidered, knitted, glued shells together, beaded ornament, and one year we decorated eggs from our chickens.I have ornaments as old as the 1930's and from many countries of the world.  Each year as I put up my tree I get to relive memories.

I am proud of my stocking. I got the kit for it at a car show. The only part of the kit that I used was the fireplace bricks. The rest of it was just used for patterns. I made it from white velvet. The tree is from the dress I wore in my sister's wedding when I was 13. The black in the fireplace is from upholstering the seats in our 1966 Impala. The fire is birch twigs from our farm. The flames I painted on plastic. My bulldog Rose was a cat in the kit. My husband made the picture frame from scrap teak wood that we brought home from the yacht factory where we both worked for a short time. The train my son made. I curled yarn for the girl and dolls hair on toothpicks. It is laying on the coffee table in the pic because I haven't found the hanger yet.

The angel that tops my tree I also made. I used the upper torso, head and 1/2 of the arms from a doll. I cleaned and painted the porcelain, set the eyes and attached the wig. Her dress has a lace panel that I beaded many years before beading became my obsession. Her cape is from the white velvet that I used on the stocking. It is lined with gold lame'.  The wings are from a white dove. Did you know that the difference between fairies and angels is that fairies have bug wings and angels have bird wings? Her halo is brass wire. You can see part of one of the chicken eggs that I painted. I hope that others of you are enjoying decorating for Christmas as much as I am. To see what the other participants are showing for sparkle click on Sally's blog link thestudiosublime.com

Focusing on Life: Give Thanks

There are so many things in life that I give thanks for. My health, friends and family, my beads, and the list goes on  and on. I chose to show our Thanksgiving table for my photo. It was not at my house this year. I celebrated at my son and his fiance's house. I am very glad that he found her and she will be joining our family soon. I am happy to be part of her family too. To see what the others are giving thanks for click on sally's link http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/  I want to thank Sally for this wonderful experience. I am so glad that I got to meet all the other participants and I learned more about me too.

Focusing on Life: Centerpiece

Our focusing on life this week is centerpiece. Sally asked us to show what is "the central, most important feature of your day, week, life! It makes you comfortable, gives you joy, brings you peace of mind. Or is simply a place of comfort." For me it is my beadwork. Beads are all of that and more to me.There are very few days when I don't spend some time beading. I have a piece of plywood with foam on the edge (so it is easy on my arms) and a fabric cover. It sets on a rollable 3 drawer cart. The cart sits in front of my lazyboy chair. The board lifts easily to sit across the chair arms. Beads are the center of my life right now. When one project is done I start on the next. I love doing beading challenges. I'm showing the back of the piece I am working on so that the person who is receiving it doesn't get to see it until it arrives at her house. To see what is the centerpiece of the other participants lives click on  the link http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/

Focusing on Life:Reflection

Since the year is almost over Sally Russick of http://thestudiosublime.com/ prompted us to reflect. This year has given me a lot to reflect on. My life is changing and I am glad I got to meet all of the participants in this year long challenge.  It has certainly enriched my life. Monday evening I looked up from my beading to see the sunset. I grabbed my camera and snapped this gorgeous photo of the setting sun reflecting on the clouds. Please use the link above to see how everyone else saw reflection.

Focusing on Life:Industrial Photography

Industrial Photography was our prompt this week from Sally at http://thestudiosublime.com. This is right up my alley. I have spent most of my like in an industrial atmosphere. I put this supercharged engine for sale this week so I took pics of it to post. When I came back in the house my email had Sally's prompt in it. The timing was perfect. You don't get much more industrial than the engine that runs your car. Especially a racing engine like this one. To see what the other participants posted use Sally's link above.

Todays post is about 7000 Bracelets of Hope. Here is what Hope Smitherman emailed me about the project: "7000 Bracelets of Hope is an initiative from the Global Genes | RARE project, which is an advocacy organization for individuals with rare and genetic diseases. Their symbol is a denim ribbon, a play on genes=jeans. You can find more about the Global Genes project on their website (https://globalgenes.org/). This organization started the 7000 Bracelets of Hope initiative to provide blue-themed bracelets to families fighting rare and genetic diseases. The idea is that these bracelets give support and a little hope to these families. As well, the unifying blue theme may help spread awareness."  I have seen this project on lots of other blog and I thought it was a worthwhile project. I thought I should donate some of my bracelts but I didn't carve out the time until http://www.znetshows.com offered to let me pick some of their sparkly  crystals to design with. The bracelet above is the first one I made. The Tiaria crystals I chose were 8x5mm rondelles item #RT101-47 in opaque sky blue. Aren't they a beautiful color? I added vintage oval faux pearls that came from my Mother-in-law and seed beads. Everything is strung on memory wire.

When I signed up for this project I hadn't thought about the fact that they needed to be multi-sized. Memory wire seemed to be an easy way to accomplish that so bracelet #2 was made the same way. This time I used RT101-46 Opaque Blue Opal  8x5mm crystal rondelles. The ovals are Hemetite and I chose  seed beads as accents. I think the hemetite really makes the beautiful crystals pop.

I wanted to do something more creative so I used a gold chain as a base. The lobster clasp can be hooked into any of the links to make it the correct size. There would be a dangle down the wrist. I used more of the RT101-46 opaque blue opal crystals for this bracelet.They are dangles every 2 or 3 spaces. The other items all came from my stash. Several of them from a pay it forward I got from Michelle Mach at http://michellemach.com/blog/ . All of the dangles except the http://www.znetshows.com crystals are different. The opaque blue opal rondelles are the unifying element.

I had 2 brass cuff forms so I embellished one of them for this project.. I was leery of drilling them so I spiraled the ends of some silver craft wire to start. I wrapped the RT101-46 opaque sky blue crystals with more of my vintage faux pearls and seed beads. I like the silver and brass together. I think that they show the blue beautifully.

Bracelet number five uses  more of the RT101-46 opaque sky blue 8x5mm rondelle shaped crystals. This time as an accent  for a 25x18mm ultramarine blue crystal RS145-118 that I got from http://www.znetshows.com  for a keychain challenge. I thought that it would make the perfect focal. The center of the bracelet is on silver craft wire. To make it adjustable I used tan leather with a tension bead. It looks much better on than it does laying flat.

I liked the tension bead idea so I used it again for bracelet #6. I made wire wrapped links with the RT101-46 opaque sky blue crystals and silver corrugated rounds with Hemetite size 6 seed beads. The alternating links are coiled black craft wire. Everything is strung on black cotton cording which has a silver tension bead. Size 6 seed beads match the crystal color and work as spacers. I hope whoever gets these bracelets will enjoy them. I enjoyed designing them. I want to thank http://www.znetshows.com for providing the crystal beads used and the inspiration to finally contribute to this great project. I receive no compensation  from http://www.znetshows.com. I just get to choose some of their wonderful affordable products to design with. It is a wonderful opportunity to stretch my creativity.

Week 44: SAINTS, SOULS, SUGAR SKULLS AND SCARES

For focusing on life this week the prompt was
SAINTS, SOULS, SUGAR SKULLS AND SCARES. I tried to take a photo of the fog Halloween morning as I looked out my driveway. I though that would be spooky but it doesn't show very well. I went to the science museum on Tuesday with my sister and some of her family. The youngest was Owen who is six. He wanted to see a real mummy. That would have been a wonderful scary pic but I didn't have my camera with. To see what the other participants posted go to Sally's website http://thestudiosublime.com

Hi, I'm glad that you joined me today. It is the reveal of Jeannie Dukic's Do Over challenge. If you don't know what that is  here is how it works. Jeannie sent me a necklace that she made at the beginning of her jewelry career. I am to make something new from it. The top pic shows the necklace that I was sent. My first reaction was wow this needs some color to perk up the grey. I wanted to keep the grey links the way Jeannie made them. I simply added white faceted round glass bead with aqua discs links. I moved the chain to the center as a focal. I added round aqua glass beads, round snow quarts beads, and round dark grey pearls to the ends of the chain. The chain pieces are separated by the shell links. I used all of the Jeannie necklace except two shell links and some of the chain. I took a long necklace and turned it into a two strand. there are two 5mm jump rings between each link. The ends of the strands join a silver link from Cindy Wimmer's new book "The Missing Link". I made the clasp also.  I made a Russian spiral bracelet to go with my new necklace. I hope you like it. Please check out what the other participants made at http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/

Focus on Life:All in a day.

This week sally of http://thestudiosublime.com/ asked us to show all in a day. Every fall I try to go on a fall leaf color road trip. Minnesota is spectacular in the fall. This year it was Monday. My son, his fiance, and I headed for Duluth. It is about 1 1/2 hours north of where we live. We took backroads and stopped frequently to take photos of natures glory. The brilliant reds of the maples are mostly gone now as are the light lemony yellows. The colors now are golden , rust and burgundy, so rich and radiant against the evergreens. Duluth is a interesting place to visit. It is on the shore of Lake Superior. The town is built on the hillsides facing the lake. It it's heyday it was very prosperous. There was logging, fishing, and iron ore mining with railroads and ore ships to carry the ore away. There are many grand old Victorian houses in the town. I shared two of my favorite. We stopped at Brighton Beach park and I got lots of great pics there. Did you see the clump of grass growing from the rock in the lake? I also like the pic of the small yellow flowers growing at the edge of the lake in the rock crevasses. Plants have a tough time growing here as conditions are very harsh with the wind blowing off the lake in the winter, sometimes at 30 below zero or more.  We went to Hobby Lobby while we were there. Yeah new bead stuff, plus a skein of yarn so I can knit a scarf. I haven't knitted in many years but I want to give it a try again. Our last stop was Russ' Fish House  in Two Harbor for  homemade smoked trout. Yumm!. The roof with the row of seagulls was a pic I snapped of the house next to Russ'. All in all I had a wonderful day. Please click Sally's link to see what everyone else did all in a day.

While you are here I thought I would post this. Some time ago I was looking at Michelle Mach's blog http://michellemach.com/blog/ and I entered her pay it forward giveaway. I was luck enough to win a treasure box of goodies in the color of my choice.  The pic above is what she sent. I am really pleased with what I received. The idea is to send something handmade (or a treasure box of beads)to the first three people to comment on your post.  Your handmade surprise will arrive sometime in the next year. When you comment you agree to pay it forward in the same way as I did.   It is an interesting way to connect with other beaders. Good luck. 

Connections is the subject of this weeks focusing on life. I found it very appropriate because I received Cindy Wimmer's new book this week. It is a wonderful book filled with wire links which are connections. I can hardly wait to try making several of the links in the book. I am sure these links will improve the quality of my jewelry. I love Cindy's style. I want to thank Sally of http://thestudiosublime.com/ for all the connections I have made this year with all of you. One of the reasons I started my blog was to connect with other beaders. Focusing on life has helped me do just that. Please take the time to check out what the other participants found for connections.

Sally Russick of http://thestudiosublime.com/  who is doing a fabulous job of prompting all of us to take better pics chose "give us a smile" this week. Let me introduce you to Little Miss Megan. She has my favorite smile. She can light up the whole room with her wonderful smile.Megan is my nieces daughter. I am the backup babysitter. Since my household was all male except me(even the dog and cat are male) she warms my heart. I have a great day playing with a little girl when she comes to my house. She is so smart and eager  to learn everything.

My blog today is about keychains. I partnered again with http://www.znetshows.com . They wanted keychains. I had never thought about designing keychains until znet asked. I picked some of their gorgeous crystals and the challenge was on. The top keychain uses RS145-118 ultramarine blue 25x18mm designer glass ovals as the center. The sparkle is fabulous. I chose wire instead of stitching because, keychains can see rough  and frequent handling. I coiled blue wire around the frame to bring out the color of the crystals. I made three dangles using Tiaria Mixes ZMX55-01 in 8x5mm size on headpins. The keychain clasps are FJ776-01 38x16mm in size. This design lead to the next which uses more of the ZMX55-01 crystals as the center. I cut four turquoise cotton cords and attached them the the keyclip with an overhand knot. I divided the cord into two bunches and macramed two strands to frame the crystals which are again on silver wire. Now I have lots more ideas to work on. It just may be that some of my friends and family will get keyfobs for Christmas. If you haven't tried keychain design yet you should. They are quick and easy to make and lots of fun. The more I work with http://www.znetshows.com the more I come to appreciate their wonderful products. I highly recommend that you go to their website and see for yourself all of the wonderful products they carry and the designs that the other participants made.

Your Best Shot was the prompt this week for focusing on life. Since beads are the best part of my life right now I decided to shoot my best bead design. This necklace is one that never fails to get compliments. Even my Mom who wears a single pendant on a chain likes this necklace. People say inspiration comes from everywhere and this necklace is proof of that. The last time my husband got orthotic shoes the shoe people had moved to a new office. When we went to his appointment I kept staring at the floor. It was just simple tiles but the color combo stuck in my head. It had a light tan backround with cream, aqua, dark tan, and light brown spots on it.  This necklace is the result of the colors in the flooring. It is a simple spiral rope with aqua firepolished rounds, glass discs, and gold discs as accents. The pendant is from Dakota Stone but I am not sure what stone it is. I bezeled and embellished it with seed beads. Fringe on the bottom completes the look. I also made the clasp from brass wire. To see the rest of the participants best please check out Sally Russick's blog on the link http://thestudiosublime.com/

Good morning all. I have a double post today. The very talented Sally Russick of  thestudiosublime.com proposed a challenge/blog hop called Creating with cabochons. I was too late for the sign up but I decided to create a bead embroidered necklace anyway. I named my necklace "Sally in Green" since Sally is who inspired it. I love to do bead embroidery. The center stone is green crazy lace agate. The rounds are amazonite. The two smaller cabs are adventurine. The cube beads are titanium coated hematite. Aren't they cool? I used super duos around the edge and the picots are hematite size 15 seed beads. Green pearls end the fringe.  The super duos strap pattern came from "Bead Design Studio" magazine June 2013.  It just seemed to fit this project. Last weekend was bead retreat for me so I got most of my necklace done there. When I got home I made the clasp and wal-la it was done. I have been amazed at all the talent shown in the other participants cab usage. You can see the others at Sally's link above.

For focusing on life the prompt this week our prompt was quiet time. For me my beadwork provides quiet time. So I decided to show my bead board. I took a piece of plywood and put foam on the edge to make it easier on my arms.Then I covered it with fabric. The board sits across the arms of my lazyboy chair. When I want to get up I simply move the board onto the three drawer roller cart and push it out of my way. It is a comfortable place to sit quietly and bead. The necklace that is in progress is from bead retreat. It was a free kit. Some of the others made bracelets but I chose a necklace. The peanut beads came as a mix. The white ones had the smallest amount so I stopped when I ran out of white peanuts. The beaded bead in progress will be the focal.I chose black glass flowers to accent the strands and finished them with the blue peanuts and 4mm white pearls. I am likong how the piece is coming together. To see what the others photographed for quiet time please check out Sally's blog thestudiosublime.com

I realized that I haven't posted any jewelry in a while so here is my latest piece. I named it "Toledo Blue Rose." In August I got to go visit my two oldest grandsons in Toledo. All of the beads and components except the lucite flowers and the clasp were purchased while I was there. I got it almost done before coming home.  I have been stitching spiral ropes like crazy so that is what I did for the straps. The rose is polymer clay. I mounted it and the brass leaves on a screen. Then I finished off with the lucite dangles.  I am pleased with how this turned out and I have worn it several times already.

Focusing on Life: in two

Our focusing on life prompt this week is in two. Sally noticed that thing often come in two's.I am showing my favorite pair of salt and pepper shakers. A pair of bulldogs. My sisters bought them for me when they were on a vacation together. Since we have had 6 bulldogs they were very appropriate. Aren't they cute? To see what the other participants posted go to Sally's blog at http://thestudiosublime.com/

Focusing on Life;Growth and Change

Focusing on life this week the subject was growth and change. I think my flowers show growth and change  more than anything around me. I start my morning glories from seed in the spring and by this time on year they are all the way to the roof of my porch. I have highway mesh between the porch posts and it gets covered with morning glories to make a private hideaway that is truly beautiful. It's a peaceful place to sit and relax. I agree with Sally that we are all growing and changing throughout our lives. It is hard to show personal growth in pictures so I am letting my flowers speak for me. To see what the other participants posted this week click on this link http://thestudiosublime.com/blog-2/

Today I am participating in Lorelei Eurto's blog hop. She showed items from Michael's arts & Crafts and asked us to get the same items and make something with them. The first piece I made used the Chartreuse rounds and the shell discs. I added copper cornerless cubes and a handmade copper clasps. The two chartreuse ovals my friend Ruby got in a box  from a flea market in Hawaii and gave to me. The lampworked bead came from the teacher of my first lampworking class. I added a copper frame to showcase it. I hope you like it. Next I made "Blue Owl." I made links with the ceramic beads, seed beads, and brass wire. I connected the links with ceramic donuts and more brass wire. I used the white nuggets to accent the donuts. To me they look like feathers. The focal is one of the owl buttons mounted on a Swazi square button with more feathers nuggets below it. The ends of the straps also have the owl buttons. I finished  the necklace with brass rolo chain and a lobster clasp. You should check out what others made for this hop at http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com/

Alenka Obid is a wonderful polymer clay artist who's work I admire. Today is the first anniversary of her blog. To celebrate she is having a blog hop. I am one of the participants. She sent us each one of her clay components and asked us to make something with it. Here is what I made. The moment I looked at the component I saw fringe on the bottom so that is what I did. I stitched spiral ropes for the straps using shades of yellow and light apricot. I used double gold findings to finish the straps. I cut a finding in half for the clasp end. The focal end has beautiful yellow pearl and a Montana blue faceted teardrop.  I hope you like my necklace. It was fun making it. Please see what the other participants made at http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.ca/

If you follow my blog you know that I have been designing for www.znetshows.com. I was a prize winner in the last www.znetshows.com design challenge. My prize package arrived in the mail yesterday. I was excited to open it and see what I got. The pic above is what I got. Am I lucky or what? Working with their products has been great. The pearls have beautiful luster and come in wonderful colors. Their crystals glimmer and shine. I am going to place an order for more of their sea glass. I had a package of the wavy discs on my order list and I am lucky enough to get them in this prize package. I have thoroughly enjoyed designing with their wonderful products. You should click on the links above to see all of the beads and findings that they have. Their prices are very reasonably.

Focusing on life:blue

Today's prompt for focusing on life is blue. I chose these little blue flowers, My husband's Mom and Grandma have had these flowers growing for as long as he can remember. Each time they moved they took them with to the new house. The last move Mom didn't take the little blue flowers with and later she regretted  this. She didn't know the name of the flower. They all just called them little blue flowers. Several years ago we were driving country roads to a car show when we stopped at a garage sale in a town of about 100 people. The lady was in her 80's. She had some of the little blue flowers in an old boot for sale. She even knew that they were wild wandering jews. Now they are back in our lives. They are the most intense blue I have ever seen in a flower. I included my thumb for size reference.To see the other participants blue choices please go to http://thestudiosublime.com/

I am posting for two week for Focusing on life. Last week Sally's prompt was pattern. I knew immediately what I would photograph. I have a small  collection of vintage lace that I am proud of. I don't know of anything that shows pattern better than lace. To think that someone sat for hours everyday for week or even months or even years to produce something so beautiful just amazed me. I just finished reading "Lace The Elegant Web" by Janine Montupet and Thislaine Schoeller. Did you know that there were laws in England against wearing lace  from France or Belgium? England was loosing so much money to other countries for the purchase of lace that laws were made to protect the economy. It could take up to 152,000 movements to produce a 6" pattern of lace and a good lacemaker could make 77 movements a minute. Much of the lace was produced in poor lighting conditions and the lacemakers were often blind by the time they were thirty.I was away from home and did not have internet last weekend so I am posting this now.

 

Routine was the prompt for this week's Focusing on life. I had to think about this for a while. I am a free spirited person so I don't cling to many routines. However there is one consistent in my life. My beadwork. Hardly a day passed without me beading so I decided that beading would be my routine thing. I have a couple of beading boards that sit on my 3 drawer cart  that I use daily to bead on. My boards can be sat across the arms of my lazyboy recliner as I work and I can swap them out if I get stuck on something and need to let the project  sit until the idea on how to finish it comes to me. I am enjoying participating in the photo challenge and I hope you are enjoying it too.I appreciate everyone's comments and I am enjoying connecting weekly with other beaders. You can see way the other participants posted at this link
http://thestudiosublime.com/

Today is the day for the Bead Hoarders Blog Hop. The top pic is a close up of my focal bead. It was made by lampwork artist Jeff Barber. He is a local lampworker who makes the most amazing beads. He teaches and exhibits at national shows. It is a badge of honor is my bead group to own Jeff's beads. This is the first Jeff Barber bead I bought. I have been hoarding it for several years. When Lori Anderson announced this blog hop I know what bead I would be using right away. Pink and green is a favorite color combination for me. I made three spiral rope sections for the necklace. The pink  swirled discs accent beads are by another lampworker who's work I admire, Tanya McGuire.The pearls are from znetshows.com
They were leftover from my last challenge. I used corrugated doublesided gold caps to finish the spirals and corrugated end caps by the 14 karat gold twisted toggle clasp. The bail is a simple herringbone strip so as to not detract from the beauty of the focal. The pink fringe ends with green glass leaves. I am pleased with how this necklace turned out and I am sure I will wear it often. Please take the time to see what the other artists made at http://www.prettythingsblog.com/

There is a very talented polymer clay artist named Alenka Obid whose work I admire. Her blog is having it's first anniversary. To celebrate she asked jewelry artists to make something with one of her beautiful clay pieces. Mine arrived in yesterdays mail. Isn't it wonderful? It has such great texture doesn't it? The subtle hint of orange at the bottom of my connecter adds to it's charm. I already have ideas starting to form for the piece I will create. If you would like to see what I make please come back on August 11. To see more of Alenka's beautiful clay pieces please visit her blog at http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.ca/

Focusing on life:texture

Texture was the prompt for this week of focusing on life. I had my latest  jewelry pieces on my board for pictures and I notices the texture in the pieces. So I added a couple more pieces and here it is. I love the seed bead stitched waves in the aqua piece. The chain maille with turquoise rubber rings and silver jumprings was the piece that made me decide to use my jewelry to show texture. Of course natural shells have their own texture. It's hard to beat Mother Nature for texture.The coiled magnetic copper wire has a unique texture that I couldn't resisting adding to the mix. The yellow and light blue bead embroidered focal has several textures. Texture is part of why I enjoy bead embroidery so much. I took several nature pics this week like leaves, seed pods, and petrified wood, but in the end my jewelry won out.What can I say, beads are a huge part of my life and most stuff relates to them in some way. To see what interesting textures others found this week  check out Sally's blog http://thestudiosublime.com/
I appreciate everyone's visits and comments each week as I explore my life through a camera lens this year. I am enjoying getting to know all the other artists better as we go through this challenge.