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Showing posts from November, 2005

Christmas cards

I don't usually post the same thing on both of my blogs, but when it comes to updates on my son, I'll make an exception! Since Nate hasn't been around much, we thought this picture of him with Dani was probably the best one to use this year! Orphanage updates: twenty out of the twenty-seven kids have American families pledged to adopt them. Please pray for the Guatemalan legal services to move with all due speed. Once some of the kids have been moved out, the children's home is going to relocate to the mountains of Antigua Guatemala where they've been building a new home (the one they came close to losing in last month's hurricane). With fewer children to care for and educate, they will be turning their attention to their next mission: taking in HIV positive babies. Please pray for all of them about this change too. Nate is not sure what his niche will be as they shift their focus as a home. Emotionally, this will be a tough direction to go too.

"Whirling Dervish"

Whirling Dervish How fun is this? I found these polymer beads that I bought maybe 15 years ago (!) in one of my many boxes of beads. Don't they look great? The colors are still as vibrant as the day I bought them. So don't be shy about investing in polymer artwork :-) Anyway, I attached them all to a vintage brass chain, which can be shortened to suit. This is definitely a head-turning piece! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

"Adam & Eve" ~ finished!

Adam & Eve Can you see the two of them in the center of the stone? It's a ruby zoisite, by the way ~ a beautiful stone that I bought at a gem and jewelry show from a woman who thought it was a dyed jasper. Hey, that's ok...ruby zoisite is way cooler than jasper. You can see the ruby crystals in the zoisite matrix. Isn't that pretty? The beads that I used for the beaded chain and clasp are also ruby zoisite, and they match the center stone really well. So, what to make next? Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Native Dance

Native Dance To create this necklace, I took aparts dozens of pieces of costume jewelry that I'd collected from the 1970s and 1980s. Remember the so-called ethnic jewelry fads that resurfaced every few years? Well, when wired together and hung from a textured-disk necklace, these pieces move and jingle together in a way that is much more pleasing (to me anyway!) than the original pieces. I absolutely love this necklace :-) Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Clasp Connection

In the category of "now why didn't I think of that?" comes Tammy Powley's clasp connection wire technique . I'm sitting here in front of the computer, slapping myself on the forehead and going "Duh!" Tammy is the incredibly capable jewelry making guide at About.com. Happy Thanksgiving all! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry

Learn beading basics

Paula Morgan, About.com's Beadwork guide, has just posted a great list of all their tutorials on basic beadwork techniques . Check it out and see how much there still is to learn! Thanks Paula :-) Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry

Slow and (somewhat) steady progress

I'm ready to start the final outlining with beads, which will bind the top embroidered layer to the ultrasuede layer below it and will hide all the raw edges. I'm still not sure what type of clasp I'm going to do for this neckpiece. I'll probably use another of the black Deco-style buttons as a centerpiece and bead around it a bit. But I'm also thinking about making a linked gold chain with jet black beads, and keeping the clasp as an ornate hook. Decisions, decisions. First, to finish the binding... Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Baylie will be in People Magazine!!

Remember I told you about Baylie ? The little girl with Chiari malformation, who is making bracelets to raise money for research? Ring a bell? Good! Buy a bracelet now, if you haven't already, because...Baylie is going to be famous! I know, that's a dumb reason to buy one. OK, so buy one because it's the right thing to do :-) Baylie will be in People Magazine, the issue dated November 28, according to my friend Tammy Powley at About.com Isn't that great? Sometimes good things do happen to the right people!! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry

New twist on the twist

I've decided to add spines to the peyote twist that I'm working on. Just started a new section yesterday, and it occurred to me that it might look kind of cool... Here is where I originally talked about the stitch, right after Aleta Ford Baker's directions came out in the October issue of Bead and Button. Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

Adam & Eve

I've gotten a bit more done on my new neckpiece. I got stuck when it came to what to stitch around the vines ~ I tried outlining them with black and with gold, and neither struck my fancy. Finally, I tried just using stacks of loosely spaced clear beads, which allows the painted background to show through somewhat. It gives an impressionistic feel to the piece. Even though it's not quite what I'd envisioned (when is anything?), I like it! Technorati Tags: wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace

An excellent article

Paula Morgan posted this wonderful blog article called How to Find the Time to Bead . It easily applies to any art form. Except you probably can't pack yourself a travel project if you specialize in 10 foot canvases...