And away she goes.......

Finally got my act together and put my Beading for a Cure piece in the mail. 

The deadline for entries is August 2.

 I'm normally not a last minute type of person. 

I guess subconsciously I didn't want to give it up.

Tuscarora Tuesday

With all the dreaded heat and humidity we've been having, I thought a fan motif might cool us down.....

click photo to enlarge

I've been told that is a strong possibility that this isn't a Tuscarora piece.  It is more likely Mohawk, due to the larger sized beads and the abundance of fringe.  Grant Jonathan (the owner of all the pieces featured on Tuscarora Tuesday) has quite a few Mohawk pieces in his collection - perhaps a Mohawk Monday would be appropriate for those!

Stay cool everyone -

Who's the next Zentangle Addict?.......

Florida Bird! 

Email me at beadingheartart(at)aol(dot)com with your address! 

Congratulations!!

Just because you don't have the book, doesn't mean you can't join in the fun!  Thanks to BeadyJeannie for cluing me in, I found out there is a great website where you can learn all kinds of Tangle patterns.  I signed up for their email and now I get  tangle patterns delivered right to my inbox!   Thanks Jeannie :)  

Tuscarora Tuesday

As today is my last day being 45,  I thought it was appropriate to post a piece that is as old as me.

Love how the birds on this pillow form part of the border. 

And how the artist left the center of the flowers open and made the loops come out directly from the velvet is so clever. 

Not looking forward to seeing what is on my desk today at work. I haven't been there since last Wednesday, so I can only imagine what I'm going to be walking in to.  Sigh, the price you pay for being on vacation......doesn't seem quite right.    I will try to remember that 'attitude is everything' and I will stay positive and not let the situation overwhelm me.  Well, at least that's the plan.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Laurel's Bracelet

After a few misses, I think I finally got it right.

Random Mix of Beady Things

Hello there!  Here's a few unrelated things I've been working on - sort of mimics my life.  little bit of this, little bit of that, not much sense to it all.....

I did finish a bracelet using the Color Swirls pattern in the latest issue of Beadwork Magazine.  I added baby 3 mm swarovski crystals to the edge and filled the centers too.  The last circle I left open and made a peyote toggle bar as the clasp.  No pics of the finished piece, but you get the picture, right?  Not super happy with the way it turned out, but I understand what the problem is-all the beads I used were slightly different sizes; the silver are more squarish, the black are too small.  Live and learn. 

Moving on to another bracelet; this one is for Hannah's friend, Kayleigh.  She picked out the colors and the pattern (from the June 2004 issue of Bead & Button Magazine - does anyone else hoard old issues of magazines, or is it just me?)

And since we're on the subject of bracelets, here's one for my sister, Laurel:

Ok, so its not quite a bracelet yet, but it will be someday soon.  After taking it apart 100 times, I've decided to join the circles with a tiny beaded bead.  I only have one made so far, but the rest should come together quickly, as long as my eyes cooperate.  Working with 3mm bicones and size 15 seeds in this color makes me a little buggy!  And what a shame they aren't very photogenic.  It's really gorgeous in person. 

I don't know if this is just a phenomenon in my house, but pens tend to vanish into thin air.  So I made myself a little peyote pen holder for a journal my sister Laurel gave me for Christmas.  I used the delica beads she brought me back from Boston and some teensy weensy 2 mm swarovski crystals as an accent. 

 I made a herringbone (I think) chain and stitched it to the binding of the book.  Now, if only I could rig some sort of alarm to trigger if someone other than myself takes the pen out....

This wonderful blog community made it a good mail day yesterday.  Not only did I get a present of these fabulous pearls from Nicole, which I absolutely love.......

I also got my blog book! 

Had it not been for Susan posting about getting her blog published, I would have had no clue such a thing was possible. 

 I am thrilled with the quality of this book.  It exceeded all my expectations.  And talk about simple and quick to do - I think it took me less than 5 minutes to order, and I got the book a week later.    If you're interested, here's the link to the site I ordered from.

So a big shout out of gratitude to both Nicole and Susan for spreading the blog love! 

Bead Happy and often!

Something to do - other than housework :)

As if I don't already have enough distractions throughout the day, I've now become hooked on Zentangle.  For those of you  who don't know what Zentangle is, here's a brief idea:

Start with a square about 3 1/2", draw a random line through the square, and fill in the spaces with pattern. 

Robbie sparked my interest in this art form when she posted a picture of her Zentangle fish that she then turned into an amazing piece of beadwork ( go check it out and then come back, ok?).

I ordered myself up some books on Zentangle and a pack of these Micron pens that were recommended to use when Zentangling and got to it.

I actually did my first couple while on our boat - I couldn't help it, the books had just come in the mail before we were leaving, and I just HAD to get it at.

It's very addictive and relaxing.

If any of you are interested in learning this art form, let me know by leaving me a comment.  I'll draw a name from the comments and send you this beginning book and a pen to get your started.  -- Just don't call me when your dust bunnies start turning into tumbleweeds :)  hmm, maybe it's possible to Zentangle in dust??  You know that a house becomes a home when you can write "I Love You" in the dust, right?

I'll pick a name next Wednesday (July 21) around 6 a.m. (eastern time).  Please make sure you either leave your email address in the comment or check back on the 21st to see if you are the winner and then let me know your email address so we can connect.

Bead Happy - and Often!

Tuscarora Tuesday

These boots were made for walkin'

and that's just what they'll do,

one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you......

I was a young girl when that song came out.  I think it was sung by Nancy Sinatra, is that right? I remember loving it.  The beat was funky and although I was too young to really "get" what the lyrics were about, I do recall thinking that was one girl no one was going to mess with.  And I have a vague memory of seeing her on TV wearing a minidress (red?) with these kick-ass high heeled white boots.  Fun Fun Fun.  Nothing like a pair of go-go boots!  Oh anywhooooo, let's get back to the beads, shall we?

These here have an extra cuff along the top that is separate from the base.  They were meant to be used as a portable sewing caddy.  You slid your scissors behind the cuff so the tips stuck out through the bottom and the back stuffed area held your pins.  How many people do you think actually used them for that purpose?  I'm thinking not many.

I like the colored centers used in this piece above.

And this tulip motif below is very sweet!

Here's a Tuscarora style sewing caddy that I made back in 2005 - geez, 5 years ago??! 

I would have never thought it was that long ago. 

This piece is pretty big.  About 12" tall and 6 1/2" wide. 

And no, I've never used it as a sewing caddy!

It was designed by Rosemary Hill and it was the neatest class.  She held the class in her house, so we were all invited to look around and see all her fabulous beadwork.  She even had squares of beadwork placed in the corners of her doorframes throughout the house - it was amazing, to say the least!

 Bead Happy and Often

New Toys!

I received a comment on one of my posts last week from a company called Mzuribeads.com.   I went and checked out the site and well, ya know, hard to resist beads made by Ugandan women.....

I bought myself a few -
These are made from banana leaves. 
Can't say I've ever held a bead made from a banana leaf before!

Tell me these bring a smile to your face :

Every one is so unique, yet there were a few matches which I'm thinking are going to be earrings some day.

The colors are fantastic and the finish is super shiny and glossy.

Here's a set of what they call "jumbo" beads.  Really Nice!

I am so impressed with these beads and hope you have the chance to support these women too.  Here's the link again:  Mzuribeads 

Receiving and Giving

Yes, I know 3 posts in one day!  Sorry about that, but I have a lot to catch up on and I have a nice quiet house and its too hot outside, so I figured why not blog? 

So, many moons ago (during the OWOH event), I made a new friend all the way over on the other side of the earth - gotta love the internet!  I put my name in to be the adoptive mom of the sweetest little crocheted kokeshi doll.  I didn't win, but Li was so kind as to make me my very own doll.  Meet LiLy:

I wanted to return the love, so I sent Li something to catch wishing stars in:

She finally received it, so now I can share it with you.

I was so afraid it had gotten lost in the mail, but I guess travelling 1/2 way around the planet does take some time!

And now onto another new friend.  Debbie sent me these goodies in exchange for a little love I sent her way recently:

Sweet!!!!!!   Inspiration abounds!  Clear off the beading table -- I'm on a mission...............................

You Girls Rock!

What is 5,635?

The

number

of

beads

on

my fringe

Can you see me in the mirror?

 - look in the right corner -

too funny!!!

Doesn't look like so much from the top, does it now?

Tuscarora Tuesday

This is my favorite one of the group

and probably the oldest too.

I find it interesting that this 'modern' piece from 1948 is much more plain.

Twins!  Almost.

I like the way the artist used color beads for the tip of the large leaf, but the rest of the piece--well, kind of sad looking.   I guess a reflection of the nation's mood back in 1936. 

Have a terrific Tuesday Everyone!   Here they are predicting 92 degrees and high humidity.  I'm thankful I'll be at work most of the day - in air conditioning, probably freezing.  But if it gets too cold, I'll just step outside and remind myself it could always be worse.