A Beading Marathon

On the eve of my 30th birthday, I took up running. As a stay at home mom of two (at the time), I felt like I needed something to focus on, besides the kids and getting the laundry done. I signed up for a 5 K and started training. Fortunately, I have a good friend who was a runner and she provided some good training advice. I was off and running. I carved a little time out every other day to run. It did my mind and body good.

Many years later I still run, sometimes not as much as I'd like. I've run countless 5K races and have now completed two half marathons. What have I learned? Consistency is key and you just have to do it (even when you don't feel like it). Some days the run will be great. You'll feel incredible afterwards. Then, there will be days when it takes every ounce of effort to get your butt out the door and you'll still feel crappy at the end of the run. Fortunately, most of the runs are good and I did feel pretty good afterwards.

I applied these same techniques while working on my bead embroidered purse. Bead a little bit each day and the project didn't seem too overwhelming. But like training for a marathon, you have to listen to your body and mind. There were days when I felt like I'd never complete all the beading. There were days when got into a groove and the beads seem to sew themselves. Sometimes I sat there staring at the piece not knowing direction I was headed. But like running, consistency is the key and I kept at it even when I didn't feel like.

I hope you come take a look at the result of my beading marathon here.

I feel exhausted and proud now that it done. I'll do another purse, but maybe after a few shorter projects. But I will be back and I will do another half marathon in the future too.

Happy beading and running!

Sharing My Heart with You

Like many others I've been overwhelmed by the holidays and the new year. Blogging wasn't the only thing that wasn't getting done on the list. Now that I feel like my head is above water, I will be trying to get back on the blogging horse.

The last few weeks have been filled with lots of activity on the beading front and I'm excited to start sharing some with all of you.

A friend of mine started this great website for 'tween' girls called iTwixie. iTwixie is the ultimate online hangout for 'tween' girls. They inspire and unite girls ages 8-14 on a site that is safe, age appropriate, and fun. Since I have a 9 year old daughter, I love that she has a safe on-line place to go to interact with other girls her own age and have fun while doing it.

I had talked to my friend last year about developing a project for the site. Finally, after a few starts and stops (on my side), my bead embroidered heart pin project is debuting today on the site.

I hope you'll go check it out and share it with any 'tween' girls in your life. The project can be viewed by anyone. I'm also offering kits in my etsy shop for anyone interested.

Guess who came to dinner?

Well not dinner (although there were wine and hors d'oeuvres), actually the art bazaar I was participating in this last weekend.

Sherry Serafini, the bead embroidery master herself.

The previous weekend she had invited me to an artisan open house that she was doing. We spent a little time catching up and she wanted to know what I was up to so I invited her to the show. And like that she was there. Her support and encouragement meant the world to me.

If you've never seen her work, you can find her website here. If you have a chance to see her in person (either a class or art show), I highly recommend it. Her classes are great. She shares so much information and is genuinely interested in you. She encourages you to work outside your comfort zone to create something that truly comes from your heart. It is a great experience.

Additionally, she has some really incredibly cool new pieces in her collection. Her neckpieces and purses are show stoppers!

So Sherry, if you are out there. THANK YOU!

Art Bazaar

Sorry folks about my hit and miss blogging the last few weeks. Now that the BIG charity event is over, (as I wipe sweat from my forehead) I've got an art show this weekend. I've been madly beading the last few weeks. I've got most of my ducks in a row for the event and I'm crossing my fingers.

So, if you find yourself in Pittsburgh this weekend, you can find me here this Friday and Saturday. It is the Art Bazaar at the Boyd Community Center. The event is benefiting Art for Autism. Join me and over 30 other local artists and get some holiday shopping done while supporting a great organization.

Here's a sneak peak at a few items I will be selling at the show.

Stop the train, I want to get off

I've been MIA for awhile because I've been working on this HUGE charity event coming up next week. My job took a lot long than I would have ever expected, but it is a good thing because the event is going to be a tremendous success. However, I will be extremely happy when it is all over so I can back to some normal routine. I think that my kids are starting to think that the phone has been surgically attached to my head. So only 5 days to go and this train will come to a screeching stop!

In the few moments that I haven't been focused on this event, I have been beading. It has been a must for me to find a few minutes here and there to bead. It is my stress relief. (Oh and by the way, I have an art show coming up in two weeks, so beading for business is a must too.)

I've been working on a bib necklace that I may wear to the charity event. It is a dress up occasion so I'll be wearing my usual uniform (black dress pants and black top) so the necklace will take center stage.

Here's what I've got done so far...

I'm thinking that I will attach silk ribbon from the top edges so that the necklace can be adjustable, although I've also had thoughts about using chain.

What do you think ribbon or chain?

A Visitor

This weekend, my husband discovered this little guy in our basement. The kids were THRILLED. I was NOT! He was little, only about 3 inches long. He's a ring neck snake. The kids were hoping to keep him as a pet. I firmly put my foot down.

I not afraid of most critters, except mice and snakes. Unfortunately, I've had way too many runs ins with both mice and snakes. I'm pretty sure we have a large black snake living in the basement. My rule is as long as I don't see him, he can stay because he keeps the mouse population down. A couple of months ago, I ventured to the basement to get some empty canning jars and discovered a 5 foot long snake skin. Again, the kids were THRILLED. I avoided heading to the basement unless it was absolutely necessary and I took one of the dogs with me. Yep, I'm a big wimp.

I have some felt that has a snake skin pattern printed on it. Maybe I'll bead a faux snake skin cuff. But that the closest I'm getting to any snakes.

My Artist Statement

I've been in the process of applying to some juried art shows. As part of that process, I've had to tackle the writing of an artist statement. I, of course, put this part of the application process off until last. I found it daunting to convey what I do into 3 short paragraphs. It is hard to put into words why I create the pieces I do. Fortunately, I have a very supportive husband, who helped me pull something together. The other good thing is that artist statements are supposed to evolve throughout an artists career. I feel confident that this is a good starting point and it can change as I change.

So here it is...

I work in bead embroidery, which is the art of taking beads and artifacts and sewing them into one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. Taking inspiration from nature, I seek to incorporate a variety of textures and colors into the work, while attempting to arrange the materials in a way that creates a sense of movement and light.

As an artist and family farmer, I find that the changing seasons impact my work. When the fields are green or the sunflowers are blooming, my palette reflects that landscape. When the dogs have an encounter with a porcupine, the quills sometimes find their way into a piece.

These native elements, along with fossils, abalone and gems tie the work to our natural lives and history.

So have you written an artist statement? Was it hard for you too? Please share a link to your artist statement, if you have one. I'm curious to see how others describe themselves and their work.

Now that this is done, I'm getting back to beading.

I'm FINALLY Back

Okay, I know it's been more than a month since I posted here on my blog. Life has been a little crazy and I needed to get my family life in order. Well, not that it is ever really in order, but I needed to feel like I had some control over it.

My kids went back to school and it always takes us a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things. We've now got a few weeks under our belts and I think we all feel a bit more settled.

I have been beading in what little time I've had. I've actually got a number of new pieces to share. I've been trying some new techniques and want to share that too. I'm also preparing for some upcoming shows. I've had to spend time taking a lot of pictures, which is not my favorite thing to do.

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to start tackling my workspace. I actually should call it the dumping ground. I've taken over our dining room. This wasn't a big deal because we don't ever dine in there anyways. Unfortunately, I tend to just dump everything on the table. When it gets bad, I organize. Well, for the last month I have been dumping and dumping and dumping. I think my kids actually started putting their stuff on the table too.

So here it is. Not good. My mission - GET ORGANIZED. I'm good at organizing, but not good at keeping it up. So I'm sure that the dining room will look like this again at some point.

When I start new projects, there is a flurry of activity, then I get interrupted and the project is placed on the table. By the time I get back to it, I might have a new idea rolling around in my head and another new project is started. Again an interruption and another project is added to the mountain. It is a terrible cycle, but a reality for me and I suspect others.

Finally, I'm adding a picture of my constant companion. This is Argus. He's my shadow. While I was taking pictures of the table, he was right there at my feet. I'll talk about Argus more another day, but I will say this. He never adds anything to the table and he never complains about what it looks like. So I love him.

Challenge Complete?

Okay, so I didn't exactly meet my challenge. My challenge was to post new items each week day this past week to my etsy shop. Since I met a few challenges (computer and etsy), I didn't actually get everything posted. However, I have posted new items to my blog this week. So I going to feel somewhat satisfied that I met my challenge. I do acknowledge that it wasn't what I originally planned, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Anyone who has a husband, children, pets, etc. is very experienced with going with the flow.

Well, here's the last of the new items. And I DID post these to my shop today. I purchased these filigree drops last year from dimestoreemporium on etsy. They are brass finding that have been hand aged. I just love the look of them. They look old and weather, like they've had a life before they came to me. Because they are so detailed, I didn't want to do too much beading. I attached them to beading foundation and used bronze size 15 seed beads to embellish the edge. The earrings are backed in burgundy ultrasuede and hang from brass ear wires. They are incredibly light weight. You can see more pictures of the earrings here.

Over the Moon

This was my submission to this week's Thursday Sweet Treat Blog. The theme was "Over the Moon". I created this one of a kind art pendant.

The moon was created with four pyrite beads that are surrounded by a variety of seed, Czech, bugle, and glass beads. The dark side of the moon was created with several different types of black beads. A cascading fringe hangs from the bottom of the pendant. It was created with Czech and seed beads. The pendant hangs from a simple circular neck wire and is backed in black ultrasuede.

So I intended to post this to my etsy shop to keep up with my personal challenge. But due to an unfortunate glitch, my computer keeps losing it's connection and I can't get it posted to on etsy. I get the whole description typed into etsy and then try to move on to the next step and I lose the connection. This has provided an unending amount of frustration. I'm hoping the issue is with etsy and not my computer. I haven't had a bit of trouble getting things posted here.

So I'm going to say that at least I got a new item posted on the blog and hope to post this piece, plus another new one tomorrow on etsy.

I hope that your day has been less frustrating than mine.

White Turquoise Bead Embroidered Cuff

As promised, here is today's newest post to my etsy shop.

Back in June, I went to a new bead show that came to town and found these beautiful white turquoise beads. The beads are just beautiful. Each one is different. The all have the traditional black matrix. Some have a pink hue and some have a brown one. They are really versatile and many colors complement the stones.

I love how the white turquoise pops against the various shades of pink, purple, and gold beads used to embroider the entire cuff. The cuff is also embellished with pearls, pewter beads, and bugle beads. The base is a metal cuff and the underside is lined with pale pink ultrasuede.

You can see more pictures here.

New Turquoise Pendant

I've given myself a personal challenge this week. I'd like to post a new item to my etsy store every day this week. I've been steadily working on pieces for the last few weeks and really need to get them photographed and posted. I only have a few more weeks before my kids head back to school. The first week or two is really crazy. Making sure everyone has what they need and getting back on schedule is really difficult. I wanted to make an effort to pay attention to my shop while I can.

So here's the first piece...

One of my favorite color combinations is turquoise and brown. With that in mind, this pendant came together without much effort. The pendant is actually three separate sections connected by Swarovski crystals in between. The top section is made from a turquoise bead. I surrounded it with seed beads and then added the Capri Blue Swarovski crystals for detail and texture. The center section is a Mocha Swarovski rivoli this is surrounded by seed beads and turquoise colored glass beads. A coin pearl embroidered with seed beads makes up the bottom section. The pendant hands from gold neck wire, but would also look great on a piece of leather.

If you'd like to see more pictures you can check them out here.

Have you given yourself a challenge this week?

Birthdays and Blue

Sorry, I've been MIA the last few days. It has been a busy week. My daughter's 9th birthday was this week and we had a lot of activities the last few days.

Last night we had her "friend" birthday party. She decided to have it at our local "paint your own pottery" place. The girls got to make their own charms to put on a bracelet. It was a lot of fun to watch their creative process. I love that they got to be part of each step of the process - picking stamps, cutting the clay, and painting. They even learned how to make roses out of clay. It was very cool. They were very serious about the whole thing. They were working so hard that they were really quiet. Not your typical birthday party. When the bracelet are done, I'll take some pictures to share.

I actually finished these earrings last week, but am finally getting around to posting and sharing. An amazonite cabochon and a blue pearl are the focal points. The earrings are embroidered with size 11 pale blue seed beads and size 15 blue metallic seed beads. A metallic blue drop hangs from the bottom. The earrings are backed in slate blue colored ultrasuede and hang from sterling silver ear wires. You can see more photos here.

I made these as part of the Thursday Sweet Treat theme "It's Going to Be A Bright Blue Day". You can see what other artists submitted here.

Tiny Flower Earrings

Since, I've obviously been focused on flowers the last few days, I decided to relist my Tiny Flower Earrings on Etsy. These adorable earrings are perfect for any occasion. Two glass flower beads are surrounded by seed beads and hang from sterling silver ear wires. The earrings are backed in black ultrasuede. These bead embroidered earrings are so light weight, you won't even know your wearing them.

To Fringe or Not to Fringe?

Last weekend was rainy and rather cold for mid July in Western Pennsylvania. With that in mind, I created this one-of-a-kind art pendant. The piece was inspired by large raindrops. You know the kind that are huge and make a huge splat against your wind shield. 

Although I am really happy with how it turned out, I can't decide whether or not I should add fringe to the bottom. To fringe or not to fringe, is the question. So what do you think?

Something New Something Blue Cuff

This incredible one-of-a-kind cuff was created for the Etsy Beadweavers July Challenge "Here Comes the Bride...". Inspired by the items every bride needs on her wedding day (something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue), I created this cuff with a twist on the classic.

The cuff was created with 9 mother-of-pearl cabochons. The cabochons were embroidered with delica seed beads and embellished with more than 250 Swarovski crystals in crystal AB and white opal. The underside of the cuff is a beautiful slate blue ultrasuede.

If you'd like to vote please visit the Etsy Beadweavers' Blog between Julty 9th-15th to see all the entries and vote for your favorite. http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com

My cuff is number 21.

On My Beading Mat

I thought I would share what I've got on my beading mat this weekend. I've started a new cuff with a southwest theme. The center is a turquoise stone. I've embellished the cuff with pearls, raku beads, pillow beads, seed beads, and more turquoise beads. I've finished beading the cuff and just need to attach it to the base and finish the backing.

I wasn't sure how much I would get done because the garden required a lot of attention. But it was a very productive weekend. The weather was perfect for gardening (not too hot with a nice breeze). The garden looks a lot better and I've got a cuff almost done. 

Tiger Lilies

This past weekend the tiger lilies bloomed. They are everywhere. We have a line that surrounds our small garden near our house, but you can see them everywhere along the roads right now too. 

Orange and yellow are not at the top of my list of favorite colors, but I can't deny that these are beautiful flowers. I now feel challenged to try beading something using the same color combination as these lilies. I find yellow a really difficult color to work with in beading. I'm sure that is because it is not one of my favorite colors, but I also struggle to figure out how to complement it with other colors. I took a few moments over the weekend to study these flowers and I'm warming to the idea of yellow and orange. Maybe it is the deep red that separates the two. I have a few other projects in the works, but my head is now filled with a number of ideas. Oh, only to have more time to bead.

Is there a color that you find hard to incorporate? Have you been able to overcome it?

Pyrite Earrings

Here's the next pair of earrings. These earrings use a square pyrite bead and a pewter bead as the focal points. The beads are surrounded by matte gray and metallic blue seed beads. A beautiful metallic blue dagger bead hangs from the bottom with Czech glass beads on either side. The earrings hang from sterling silver ear wires and are backed in black ultrasuede.

It is a rainy weekend here so I hoping that I can get some more beading done. I'm also glad it's raining because I just don't feel like weeding the garden. I'd rather weed through my beads.

Skipping Stones Cuff

While on our recent road trip, we took a few moments to skip stones on Lake Champlain. My youngest daughter was so excited when she got a stone to skip two times over the water. We could have stood there forever skipping stone after stone. 

I created the Skipping Stones Cuff to capture that memory. The center stone is a lavrovite stone. The stone is a combination of black, gray, silver, and blue. Each of the stones I bought is slightly different. Some have black spots and others have blue streaks across them. Three dark blue Czech beads are randomly placed on each side. Surrounding each of these Czech beads are seed beads that mimic the ripples of the water. The base is a metal cuff and the underside is covered with navy ultrasuede.