My Favorite Christian Holiday Has Passed

Can you believe it, Christmas is over?! It came and went so quickly - aside from stores setting up for the holiday. They start that in July. :| I'm okay with the holiday passing by because goodies come around less and less. However, I will mention that I am going to begin baking again! I've asked my Ma over to bake - you know, these are activities that we enjoy doing together. Is it all that insane? :D

All right, I'll move on. Ed liked the beret that I crocheted up for him. it was part of his Christmas gift. I would show the hat with a photo of him instead of my model, but he is burned out from me taking his photo so much. I doubt I'll ever get a decent one of him again! LOL When he has the beret on, he looks like a fella in the military. It looks nice and he claims it's comfortable. Whew! 

As some of you know, I try to crochet after dinner to keep me from eating. Well, I eventually put down the hook and took up the fork and spoon. I've been eating so much ice cream that it's crazy. I thought I would try switching up my hobby to keep my interest and my body out of the kitchen! So, beads it was. I made this beautiful bracelet with glass bugle beads, seed beads and semi-precious amethyst stones.

These pretty earrings also have the semi-precious amethyst stones as accents. Both of the pieces can be considered "green" since I used the beads from pieces that I took apart. The vintage tear-drop green beads were also from a piece that I took apart. When stones and glass become too heavy to wear around the neck on a string, it's nice to break it up and make smaller pieces from them.

I just love the Swarovski crystals too. I'm a sucker for the aurora borealis finish on ALL beads. I just can't stop looking at them! The blue color of these beads are so cheery for spring or summer jewelry.

I mentioned in my last entry that I was going to work on a "flying geese" table runner. Well, I was finally able to get into my sewing room just yesterday. I frantically started cutting my fabric up and I didn't realize that I was following the wrong instructions. I cut up my fabric in all sorts of strip widths! I had to start the project over with some other fabric I had in my stash. This morning, I cut the new fabric choices into strips and I was extremely careful to follow the correct instructions.

What am I going to do with all of my erroneously cut strips? ...coasters, of course. I love making quick projects. In between making the coasters, I plan on working on this "big idea" I have. My goal is to be finished by December 31st, but it might just be January 1st. That wouldn't be bad. Either way I'll be bringing something new into year 2011. I plan on revealing my "big idea" here, next Tuesday. It's very exciting so please check back!

Have a great New Year's Eve!

Until next Tuesday...

A Holiday Table Runner and Poly-Pumpkins

I have had an itch for a couple days to sit down and write again. When I arrived here, I was reminded that it's been 9 days again (Thanks Laura!!). I can't believe how time flies. One of my new hobbies lately is to sit at the computer for at least an hour at a pop and research sewing machines. (That's where the time goes!) I was starting to lose hope in the Kenmore I sent in to have fixed. I thought for sure I screwed it up bad because I have a tendency to be really hard on things. Nothin' delicate about me! I dig in full force! Well anyways, I got a call two days ago that my Kenmore was back in MN and I picked it up. The only thing wrong with it was the bobbin tension and timing. I thought for sure I messed up the gears somehow. HAHA! (That's why I've been reasearching new machines. Well that, and I want a new one "just because".) I started to sew up a table runner in beautiful blues last night and it runs like a dream again. I will mention though, that I messed with the bobbin before I started my project. I'm PICKY ABOUT MY TENSION! It may be my weakness as a seamstress. Hah.

I'll move on. I learned how to sew this table runner in my serger class.

The desk it is displayed on is my old sewing desk. It's around 70 years old and I love it!

This next photo is a result of a day's worth of work! I went through all of the fabric my new friend at work gave to me. I measured it and separated it into their piles. When I was finished folding and organizing, I counted the yardage: 70+ yards! Woohoo! What a blessing. The table runner that I'm working on is from that stash. She has excellent taste in fabrics! (A photo of the table runner will be posted as soon as I finish it.)

I don't know if any of you remember that I made some cupcakes out of polymer clay a long while back. I just couldn't stop making them after I got started. HAH! They are too cute. I wear them for earrings and people just love them. So do children, little girls especially!

So, my husband was impressed with these cute little miniatures and encouraged me (repeatedly for days!) to make pumpkins for the season. I finally set my stuff up and made them and they turned out adorable! I even made little vines for them. Cute, cute, cute! They will be used as earrings, pendants and charms. They were a lot of fun to put together. My last step is to polish and varnish them, then put on the findings. :)

My mom and I have planned to go to a craft show in Blaine, MN today. Oh, a handful of women from work are also going to meet us there. It will be so fun! Apparently, this is the only show of it's kind for crafters to make as much money as they do in the state. I'm not going to spend money though - I'm going for ideas and to compare my craftmanship! Shhh...:)

Cards and beads, cards and beads...

Okay, Good day! It feels so great to be back in the saddle again (good song). :)
I have been working on finishing off projects that I have started as well as accomplishing little new designs for earrings.

First off, my "Girl, you have ... Style" card. I adore it. I got this theme in the clear stamps at Michael's for $1. Spectacular. Since I sew, I fell in love with the dress form and could not pass it up. And, I don't wear high heels EVER, but I just love the hip artsy look. I'd like to make a necklace using a heel as a pendant. One day, perhaps sooner than expected. :)














Now the beading! I love the loom. It's a different type of beading. At this point, my designs aren't very intricate but they will get there. Practice and desire makes perfect. Ed thought my flower was a kitty and the heart an arrow. ...he's got bow hunting on the brain! Haha...























Here are three pairs of earrings that I designed. The first pair are okay. I needed the color to go with something I was wearing. The copper pair: I made all of the findings you see with the steel plate and hammer technique. I definitely loved doing it, but I need a jewelers block badly. I like altering the state of the wire. (...I can picture the molecules moving under the force of my hammer with each steel tap and smash. Mmm, the thrills of physics!)

The gold necklace was me practicing my flower chain and finishing with double cup clams. I need all the practice I can get. I haven't taken any beading classes to learn what I know. I just talk to people and read books. So far, I think I get it. I'll just keep it up.

The teal bracelet: that was a loom project. I was experimenting with loopy-loops but I am not too thrilled about the turn out. I guess I was hoping for something a little more lacey. No biggy though, I have another technique in mind that might give me the results I'm looking for. ;D That's it for now!

Bead Earrings

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been crafty.

Here are a couple designs of earrings. I'm not very interested in the cat earring with the dome overhead as much as I am with the wire tri-loop jump ring design. Cute cute. I was practicing making bead links and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to apply what I have learned.

I'd like to finish off the cat earrings by pounding the copper tri-loop flat so it catches the light nicely. :) Ed said he'd help me do that tomorrow. That means "I got the tools that will help you accomplish that, Baby." YAY!

The next set is what I call Tiger Eye but it was listed as "Cateye" at the store. I found an adorable silver bead cap to top it off. I made them for Valentines Day. Again, cute cute!!

Teal Waters Bracelet

I've been so tired the last two nights, but I was still able to create something new. A piece of jewelry.

The first night, I drew up the design and got the clam-shell on the beading string and the second night I was able to implement my plan. I used Miyuki seed beads and Czech beads but I forget the shape name. Some sort of faceted glass, anyways. It's a pretty bead. :) At the end of the fringes I used a cheap seed bead I purchased in a bulk bag from Joann's Fabrics and Crafts. I gave this bracelet a name. I got the idea to name it while browsing bead store websites. Most places have classes and they have named them according to the name they have given to the jewelry piece. So this is called Teal Waters. =D

Continuing on...picking up where I left off

**** Good Evening!!****

I will begin by saying this is the new site that has been created on purpose. I had 3 different Google accounts and an MSN email address. I wanted to combine and wasn't able to. So I started over with a new address and new blogsites. I just mentioned to my friend Renata, whom I put the beadwork pieces up for, that I was going to put up my newest page. Here it is. =) Here's a couple of photos of Edward 10 days after he proposed to me!

And the next two photos are of the beaded pieces that I made. The orange one was for a friend so I don't know how the clasps held up, but mine broke. I guess Renata-the-Beading-Guru will have to show me a thing or two with bonding and quality craftswomanship. Argh! So, I was wondering, but doubting, that I had too many readers that might be bummed out about my web address changing. I'm pretty new here so it might be easier than I think it is to find someone. If there is someone out there who is following my blog (now former blog) and had a hard time finding the new address, I apologize.