A Beaded Journey

Hello again....

I always have a difficult time coming up with a "topic" for my blogs. I always thought that this blog would be devoted only to sharing my new creations or discussing bead related topics. I think that this is still true. Beading has become such a huge part of me, and my life in general, that most things I would blog on would somehow involve beads anyway. In any case, I have decided to not be so strict with myself on what I post about. In every part of my life, my creativity and my beadwork is key. Why not just accept it and work with it? ; )

For the last several years, I have been fascinated with the Bead Journal Project. It was started in 2007 by Robin Atkins, a well known beader in her own right. She was inspired by a similar quilted journal contest. The whole point of the project is to make one "journal page" every month to expand your creative limits while expressing your feelings in a visual way. There isn't even a required size, shape or format to these "pages". I saw that one woman did her's on bottons. The only requirement was that each month the pieces had to be the same type/size.

I followed the blogs for several years, watching all of the amazing creative expressions of these bead artists. Some used their pages to memorialize the month and it's happenings. Others did pages for the seasons. They were all beautiful, but some of my favorites were the ones where the artists expressed their emotional journey for that month. I loved the stories and the writings of these artists. I always wanted to apply to participate, but I was never brave enough. I was sure that I would be rejected because I am not a famous or "high calibur" beader.

This year, I finally was courageous enough to apply, and guess what? No Bead Journal Project this year. What a bummer. But guess what? I have decided to do my own beaded journal for the year, and I plan to post my pieces on this blog. I decided that I would have loved to participate, but I can do this on my own if I need to. Today I DO feel like I need to. My beaded journey for the year starts today....

Oh my goodness... I forgot about my blog! ; )

I can't believe how long it's been since I have done anything with this blog. To be honest, I had even forgotten I had started it until I went to comment on my friend Carol's blog and had to sign in to my account. As silly as it may sound, I am thrilled to be back to it! I intend to blog often!

Just a note, I have to change some of the info on this page because I have a different Etsy store now, and many many more designs. Stay tuned!

Come vote on the EBW Challenge!

It's official! The voting is now open for the Etsy Beadweaver's Challenge. I am honored to be in the company of such amazing bead artists and I enjoy participating in these challenges SO much. The theme for the February Challenge was "Temptations", and it is absolutely fabulous to see all of the incredible entries. My entry is "Sweet Beaded Temptation" and it is #13 in the picture below.

To vote for my piece or any of the other fabulous creations, visit http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ . Your support of our wonderful group of artists is much appreciated!

In other news.....

I am so excited to have been asked to be a guest teacher at Indigo Beads in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Starting on March 28, 2009, I will begin a two part "Bead Embroidered Pendant" class. When that is finished, I will be teaching a beadweaving class. I love to teach beading techniques and see the excitement in the eyes of the students. What a wonderful thing to look forward to!

Also, my very favorite student has finished her first Bead Embroidered Cuff, and it is fabulous!! My Mom, Kay Easton, has been doing embroidery of all sorts for as long as I can remember. Sometime around Christmas, I finally convinced her to try bead embroidery. She made a beautiful pendant and was instantly hooked. Now she has completed her first cuff, and here it is!

This cuff was inspired by 6 Atlantic seashell focal pieces and adorned with freshwater pearls, gemstone chips, swarovski crystals, Czech firepolished beads, delica beads, seed beads and Charlottes. Isn't it beautiful?!?

Hello again! It's been TOO LONG!

Hi again. I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Yikes! It has been a long couple of months, but the bead work goes on. In spite of all of my trips to Klamath Falls and hours of dental work, I have managed to finish several pieces. Here are some examples!

This piece is called "With A Twist". I really love how it turned out. It is a bead embroidered cuff with a lime green soapstone cabochon as the focal point. I also used Austrian crystal rondelles, Czech fire polished beads, pressed glass leaves and several kinds of seed beads/delicas. It is the first bracelet I have done with a curved band, and I am SO happy with how it looks.

After much consideration, I named this piece "Sweet Beaded Temptation". The focal pieces are 6 gemstone cabochons, all in different shapes and colors. The embroidery on the band incorporates swarovski crystals in several colors, freshwater pearls, gemstone chips, Czech fire polish beads, pressed glass leaves and countless seed beads and delica beads. I am thrilled with this one! It was created as my entry for the February challenge for the Etsy Bead-Weaver's Team. The theme this time was "Temptation". This cuff represents all of my favorite temptations these days. I just can't get enough of beautiful beading components. Ahhhhh.

I will be posting more pictures in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.... : )

A fantastic holiday visit!

Hi again. I haven't posted in a bit, and I thought I would check in. We had a wonderful Christmas vacation at Mom's house. We stayed from 12/21 to 12/26, and it was wonderful. The kids had a great time playing in the snow and playing video games. We also got to visit my brother Andy, it was great!


I had some great beading time in the midst of all of the excitement too. In an earlier post, I showed you the pendant I started for my Mom using my Grandmother's petrified wood cabochon. I worked on that and finished the pendant by Christmas Eve. Then we went to the local bead store, Indigo Beads, to shop for beads to make the matching necklace. We had a wonderful time shopping and started a new tradition of creating a project for each family member for Christmas. The shop is run by Angie Britton, a friend of mine since junior high. She just opened her store this year, and it's been a screaming success. She has all sorts of amazing treasures! She has also asked me to teach a class for her during the next class schedule! What an awesome honor!

Here is a picture of my mom wearing her new treasure. I have decided to call it "Mother Earth." The pendant is a bead embroidery piece using delicas in 3 blue/grey colors and a Swarovski crystal accent. The necklace is composed of blue and grey freshwater pearls and czech firepolished beads.

I am currently gathering up cabachons to start some new bead embroidery projects for Valentines Day. We will see what they actually end up as. : ) They kind of do their own thing during the creative process. I am very excited about the next EBW Challenge. The theme for the January Challenge is "Tropical Holiday", and my mind is just spinning with ideas already. I am having visions of Hawaiian oceans and Caribbean skies. Ahhhhhh........

Gearing up for Christmas and a couple of "works in progress."

Hello again from the Arctic! Just kidding, but it sure feels like it. We are only 74 miles away from our house, but the difference in the weather is unbelievable! I can't believe I lived in this town for so many years by choice. : ) We are having a great time in spite of the weather though. My Mom and I went Christmas shopping last night and wore ourselves out. We did find quite a few great deals though. Today I am taking my family to visit my brother, Andy. We haven't seen him in almost 2 years, so we are very excited.

I have a couple of new projects going, and I am very excited about them. At this point they are "works in progress", but I am going to post pictures anyway. The first set are going to be components of a necklace. Green is my favorite color, and therefore also my favorite color to bead with. I think these have turned out very pretty. I can't wait to see them all done.


The next piece is a piece of petrified wood that my Grandma (who passed in 1989) had collected and polished. I am making a pendant for my Mom out of it. I love the wood grain and the blue tones in this piece. I am planning on making a bail on this piece and creating a necklace for it to be worn on. This one was hard to photograph, but I think you will get the idea.


In case I don't get a chance to blog again before Christmas, I just want to say how blessed I have been this year and how thankful I am for my amazing family and friends. I love you all, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Getting ready for Christmas.

Hello to all! I am posting this blog from my Mom's house in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I have spent the last couple of days freezing my butt off while taking care of some errands here. There has been well over a foot of snow here since I arrived here Thursday night. Brrrrrr!

I saw the dentist this morning and I am happy to report that we now have an extensive plan for getting my teeth all fixed up. I know this is not beading news, but I am so excited that I just had to mention it. I am headed back home to Medford tomorrow, but only briefly. I am coming back to Mom's on Sunday with the whole family to stay through the Christmas holiday. It has been a very busy week, but also a very exciting one.

I finished the holiday order I got for 5 new bracelets in spite of all of the traveling I have done. I am posting a picture for all to see. These are swarovski tennis bracelets in lime green, cobalt blue, purple, pink and lavender. The pink and lavender ones are for little girls, so they are smaller. I think they turned out very pretty. The pictures I take never really do things justice. I am meeting Melissa tomorrow to deliver them to her, and I hope she loves them.


I also just sold the "Time Capsule" pendant to my friend, Nikki as a gift for her mom, Retta. I am so excited that she loved it enough to buy it for her mom, and I am thrilled that it will belong to Retta because she is a great lady. It's a great deal all the way around. : )