Beaded 2 Bless

 I am trying to finish a Megaman costume for my son for the Fall Festival- he really wants to win the costume contest. Here is a photo I am using as a guide. So far I have the basic suit with the arm bands- no gloves (you can't unwrap candy with gloves on!) and I made a pair of spats for the boots, but I need to sew in the fasteners to keep them on. I taped a plastic bag on my son's head to make a form for the helmet but no fabric mock up yet. There are the ear "muffs" to make, the helmet, epaulets and a few other little details- like painting the white zipper navy. I have also decided that is will be a long cold winter and I am shoveling out the contents of my house so that there is lots of room for me to climb the walls. It is always sad to see the warmth of summer disappear. I even cleaned a window in the kitchen today and I just wanted to stand at the sink and look out that shiny clear glass it was a bit cool to really want to go out. My next goal is to get the re...

Never heard of such a thing? Be careful googling it... I got an eyeful myself.  I guess that is what happens when you like odd things. This one is very tame and I think I have hit upon a design I want to revisit- I am talking of this one not the eyeful. I started on this the Sunday before Bead Fest Texas. If you really know then you would  know I  just had to have something uniquely me to wear. As the commercial says, "Nailed it."  It took 6 days to  bead those little cogs and  to create some larger ones with an interesting shape (just to see if I could do it).  To make the corset, I used the same geometry application to draft a pattern for a neck corset as you would for an underbust. It worked and it gave me an exquisite foundation to sew all the cogs. There are a total of 33 cogs! A few of them are stacked on top of one another for dimension. There is a necklace design  like this only without the neck corset  brewing, I can feel it.  ...

Sometimes you hear the all familiar,   "Mom come help me, I'm stuck!" You never know what you will see when you arrive. I like to set my laundry basket at the end of the couch until all the wash is dried and then I take over the couch with a folding party of one. My youngest also likes to use this same place to plug his DSI into the power strip....  What happened this time was priceless.   I wished I had realized I could use the video button while he was flailing his arms and legs trying to get out.  Instead, all you get are these still photos. I just watched as he figured out how to get out by himself. I laughed so hard because it was funny and  he really knows how to put on a show. Each one of my kids have one night a week that they do something without the other. He insisted that he wear my latest creation...   After a year long break, we are back to Scouting on Monday nights. He  is a second year Webelo scout and I am v...

A friend of mine, Carol-Anne, designed this bracelet and handed me the beads to bead it. It is called the "Queen's Crown Bracelet".  I imagine the Queen of Hearts would love to get her hands on this jewel.  Carol-Anne  trusted me to test her instructions and I found them to be very well written and illustrated! WAY TO GO, Carol-Anne!  It was such a priviledge to stitch this and of course it always great when you get new beads! It took me several days to finish it but even my son had to try it on. While I was making it I would look over at him,  he was supposed to be doing schoolwork.  Instead,  he would be staring at me, mezmerized by the color and sparkle. I did add a few bits here and there but the overall design is definitely true to her instructions. Her design lends itself to some great variations.  I have seen a couple from her and her first students that were just stunning. I used this peyote cirlce  ins...

I won a book at the Shreveport Bead Retreat and I have been challenging myself to learn about "Shaped Beadwork".  I love being able to apply what I have learned to so many things. Here is a better shot of the diamond shapes and now they have a purpose too! The flower is a "Trillium" from Diane Fitzgerald's book (Shaped Beadwork). And the bracelet band is the diagonal striped chain ( only my colors aren't striped AND it is 3 segments wide.) This trillium has added embellishments that were not covered by the book ( in other words- I made them up). I have another project I am working on but "MUMS" the word. We all have to have some secrets- right? Keep on Beading my beady friends!

SEE A gift for a special lady First "Shaped Beadwork" looks like a rodent's head :( Second "Shaped Beadwork"

I had a terrific time at my very first bead retreat.  I don't think I ever got into bed before 1 :30 am and never slept past 8 am. We took daily trips to Starbuck's (Mandi is a superstar and gets an employee discount). I acquired a new nickname, one that is a quite common reference in my house- "Groceries". I guess I really do eat a lot, though it is not my favorite past time. Even though it was a bead retreat I did not bead very much at all. I spent most of my time sharing with others and peddling kits and doll forms. All my peeps thought they were at the "popular table" with so many flocking to purchase kits and check out my beaded dolls too. The cogs class I taught  was a big hit, my friend Carol-Anne did a logical thing and counted heads for me. I had 26 students, a teacher's aide, and a heckler. Mandi offered to help me, she collected money and announced my class was about to begin to any stragglers left in the ballroom. Another friend,  Julie the...