Beaded 2 Bless

I feel as if I am beginning again. However, I have so many things in place from when I really first began this creative journey. I am beginning again, but I am not starting from scratch. The trials of the past have given me perseverance I had not idea I possessed. I am still recovering from a major life change but I am allowing my life to become better and trying very hard to not become bitter... I am finding that I am not having to try so hard at it lately. I have hope. I have a new vision. I have wisdom to stop and pray. I have Grace. I have Mercy. And most of all, I have love. I have the love of so many sweet supporters and friends and family. People who constantly encourage me and remind me of why I create. Why I love to teach people. Why I get out of bed each morning. I have a commitment to stop and spend time with God and meditate each day with him on the creative process he has called me to. I had forgotten what peace and joy there is in that little bubble of medit...

I am trying my best to get   Back in the Saddle Not sure how it working but.... I have good news. Two new designs are being released for classes this year. "CRAWphabet" I will be teaching my first CRAWphabet class at Wild Beads this Saturday, July 16th:  one class from 10:30 and another at 2:00.  Class cost is $50 and included beads but not the finding (or other beading supplies.) You will learn how to take RAW and create CRAW embellishments  on it using Toho's Takumi large hole seed beads. "Indie Earrings" "Indie Earrings" will be introduced at the Shreveport Bead Retreat July 29th- 31st.    Contact Ida to register. Blessing to you all and keep me in your thoughts as I "saddle up," Ralonda

I haven't had the heart to blog in sometime, mostly because I believe in speaking positive affirmations and not magnifying a problem. There is a part of me that has not blogged because of derogatory comments made about sharing your story through blogging. I now realize that it is that very thing that needs to happen. That is, we need to share our stories. They encourage, uplift, and help us identify with one another on a level that is supernatural. I don't know about you but I am all about connections on a supernatural level. So much of this world has left us wanting, with a hole- Plumb calls it a "God-Shaped Hole". I have to agree. There are many problems in going on in my life at the moment and just to briefly share- My life as I knew it for many years has been torn apart. I am separated and missing one of my boys, my baby boy. I am facing a nasty divorce and the disconnections of my baby boy. Please, if you read anything into this read that HE is bigger and H...

New Releases?! Today I finally made time to release two special designs on my Etsy shop . The first of which was my very first National Class taught at Bead Fest Texas in October back in 2011. It was Bead Fest's second year in Arlington, Texas and my very first time teaching for them.  The very first year I volunteered to help Bead Fest as a Dallas Bead Society member. It was then that I wore my design and was asked to submit it as a class proposal. It is a special design and brings back a lot of happy times.  "Waves of Grace" I will be teaching at Bead Fest this year in March. I am offering a beginner's peyote class and a two day workshop. The workshop is "Beaded Art Dolls" and the peyote class is "Peyote Pearl Princess". Art dolls beaded by Ralonda I love the romantic feel of these earrings. The old street lights of a time forgotten can be remembered every time you wear these. You can almost hear the clip-clop of horse hooves as th...

The new year is bringing me a new life. A friend of mine has chosen for several years to forgo the tradition of resolutions and instead adopt a tradition of a word that has significance for the year.  Being reminded of that, I am with her! My word of the year:   "Revelation" Groan, if you must. It started stirring up before 2013 ever ended.  It is so powerful that is just couldn't wait. Some things revealed to me: Use a filter when taking in what other say about you- it's not all true- it is merely their perception. You could also set the value of their truth to the value of their relationship to you.  Revelation leads us to wisdom and making better choices. It sets us on the path of our calling The best one of all came to me just this morning-I am divinely appointed to make things and to create. Just as Bezalel was called to create with his giftings, so am I. To create with a "heavenly pattern" brings him Glory.  Find your in...

Keeping up has proved to be a very difficult task. One that will continue to be more and more difficult. If there are any of you faithful readers still left... Go to  The Bead Maven's Blog  : You will find me there for a guest post. Blessing!

Summer has been busier for me than normal.  I taught two 6 week courses to beginning beaders who had never stitched before. One was for a home-school group of ladies and some of their daughters also.  The other was for adults at my local public library . I had an incredible group of ladies in both classes and they all did an amazing job with the fast pace of the projects offered.   We covered: Flat even count peyote with the "Basic Peyote Bangle". "Basic Peyote Bangle" Tubular even count peyote with the "Peyote Pearl Princess Bracelet" "Peyote Pearl Princess Bracelet" Brick stitch with the "Diamond Bracelet" Modified brick stitch with an embellished edge and using two stitches in one project with "Key to Beading" "Key to Beading" 2 X 2 Right angle weave with "Two by Two Bracelet" 2 X 2 X 2 Right angle weave with "Double Wide" "Two by Two...

If you haven't ordered your copy of  Contemporary Geometric Beadwork Volume I by Kate McKinnon ,  then you are missing out.   Pyramid Bracelet from the book with a twist; I added these daring and dangerous SPIKES. These spikes can be found at Rings and Things This book will open your eyes and  encourage you to approach beadwork in such a refreshing and creative way. You will want to play with every new concept! You will learn new thread paths that will revolutionize your designs and their structure! From the spiral design of the book to the amazing photographs and literary contents... this book is my favorite beading "text book" ever! AND there will be a Volume II, which you can pre-order and have online access to the projects as they are developed! How the heck that really happens is beyond me but it is FREAKIN' AWESOME! Keep beading alive and encourage your community to get involved! Teach at your local library or even...

Spring is still struggling with winter and will soon be overpowered by summer's heat here in the countryside of Texas. In the wee hours of the morning the temperature managed to drop from a comfortable 70-ish to a chilly 50-ish and now- cold rain. I am thankful for the rain, but I am not a fan of the cold. I tend to get slow, crickety and cranky when the cold comes in and today is no exception. These wild Blackberries are loving the spring rains. This is a portion of the same patch of Blackberries after I cleared some of the dead  brush/plants. BUT, it is a good day to be a beader. The great outdoors is not calling my name today and I can contentedly sit at my desk and create. It could use a good cleaning but I think I need another dose of spring  to jump start that "spring cleaning" mode. I shall be content to create in my mess of a haven. "The Hook Line and Sinker" kits have been swimming out of here so fast that  I have been struggling to ba...

Custom Steampunk cuff Custom Steampunk cuff with stylized "Compass needle" Steampunk cuff Hook Line and Sinker Hook Line and Sinker, Majic Orchid Colorway Gothic Swan Cuff- 1st Place Advanced and People's Choice (TBR 2013) Beaded Bead with the new Twins and Spikes designed with Mandi Ainsworth. One of the beaded beads in two sizes. Beaded Beads with Twins and Spikes designed with Mandi Ainsworth. Baby Spike the dragon. Beaded Beads, and Baby Spike and Gothic Swan are upcoming Kits/ tutorials and Hook Line and Sinker is already available. Blessings, Ralonda

It was decided that there would be a beaded art doll shoe challenge on BAD..... Two of us are stitching shoes to offer as forms. I have been playing with some ideas to make shoes like the one I previously posted small enough and completely stuffed. This way, a doll face could be added and it could become a small art doll. There are requirements that must be met on BAD (Beaded Art Doll Yahoo group- for those who may not know) for forms that are to be used in a Round Robin. The most difficult to achieve of these requirements is size. The forms I want to make are difficult to sew and sewing them in miniature is even more difficult. after several attempts I have landed a design that I can both sew easily and reproduce often. The last time I designed a form for one of their Round Robins, I wound up making 33 teapots forms. The demand doesn't seem to be as high this time and there is another lady making forms (phew). Below are the first few, which are far too large for a RR but are ok...

Been feeling a bit ragged here lately. So, I decided to capture that in a doll as a way to remember that being run ragged often produces some pretty neat things if we will follow thru and endure with hope and patience. That last bit is a pep talk to myself but feel free to claim it for your own. Blessings!

Bead Fest Texas is fast approaching and I have been making kits and even putting a new design together for my students. The workshop being offered on Friday October 26th from 6-9pm is Steampunk Style Beaded Cogs. Here is a quick photo of the new design using the same technique being taught in class. You can also find me at meet the teacher on Friday from 11:30-1pm. Many of the teachers will have their wares for sale as well as contact info for future reference.  For the first time ever, "The Native Spirit Earrings" kit will be available too. The Native Spirit Earring! Hope to see you at Bead Fest. Blessings!

It has been a very long time since my last post. Hang on to your hats because I now have a laptop dedicated to staying connected that no one else will be using- ever. I have been beading- but not on anything very  important.  I participated in a bird RR for a beaded art doll group on yahoo. I also had the privilege of delivering a RR doll to its owner after 9 other ladies worked on her. We had to put all the other dolls on hold so that we might deliver "Joy" as soon as possible. The dolly's mommy was very ill and was concerned that she may not see her doll before she died. Well, we barely made it. She received her doll only a week before she went home to be with the Lord. Carol Anne was a  remarkable lady (forefront) and an amazing friend and mother. Kathy is an awesome friend too (also pictured). Usually the passing of a loved one while working on a beaded doll puts me in a funk. Having been able to deliver hers really gave me some closure on that k...

As a toddler, my mother knew there was something wrong with my ankles. It probably didn't help soothe her mind to note that there were two other cases of club foot and  another baby born to my father with a severe deformity. I tell you this because my mother spent a lot of time rubbing my feet and taking care that I had just the right shoes. I wore corrective shoes and braces until I was old enough to protest. She knew I meant business when I threw one of the braces out the window as we sped down the highway. Thanks to my mother, her persistence and the grace of God, I can walk today. A real trendy shoe to be beaded! Shoes always had a special significance to me, not just because they are trendy, but because they represent her dedication to my future. When I found her ballroom slippers under her bed just before she passed ( we knew she was going to in just a matter of hours), I cried my eyes out. Being practical, I nearly passed them over. It wasn't...

Whenever I create a doll, I am whisked away by the Creative Spirit. It is that little voice inside me that directs me down the path. With "Firefly" that voice was harder to hear and spoke far fewer words, just as you might expect from a doll that is asking the for the flames to be fanned into an inferno from just a smoldering coal. The vision grew into a brighter light. Now we have "The Flood". It is indeed  a flood of ideas, a rushing movement of a fluid life. It is another representation of one's life captured in art, a piece that has identified what cannot be explained in words. Face the Flood. The face of "The Flood" is aware, somewhat serene, but will keep you wondering. The color captures the strength  of the wave caps.  Even the texture is meant to portray the "foaming" of the waves as they break. Since first creating this doll's form, there have been many projects to complete, strict schedules to stick too, and ...