True Love

My niece had the most unbelievable photographers for her wedding.

 Not only are Rich and Alyssa the nicest couple, they are amazingly talented.  If you have a minute or two and can appreciate amazing photography, take a look see at some of Ashlee and Adam's wedding pics:

Best Wedding Pictures Ever!!!! Thanks Nickel City Studios!

Wait til you see how creative the picture of their wedding rings are.  LOVE IT!

(And sorry to disappoint some of you - there will be no pics of my dress and purse.  Didn't take any.  Didn't even think about it to tell you the truth.) 

It's Official

My niece is now a married woman!

My brother-in-law Dino, my sister Laurel, my niece Alexandria, my 'new' nephew Adam, my niece Ashlee, Mom, Dad

And yes, if you look really closely (clicking the pic might help), you can even see the bracelet and earrings I made for my sister and the bracelet I made on that beautiful bride!   See, you knew there had to be a beading connection didn't you???

And since I haven't done any beading since finishing my purse, that will just have to do for now.  :)

Bead Happy and often (at least more often than me at the moment!!)

Wedding Purse Finished!

Here's the dress

Here's the purse

(click on the pictures to get ultra close)

Two super strong magnets hold the flap down.

Hard to get a good picture of the full design, since it's so round.

I used the same crystal circles for the strap rings that I used to make Laurel's bracelet for the wedding (the pattern is from the June/July issue of BeadWork)

I was so happy to find this ultrasuede in my stash.  It made the perfect lining.

I'm thinking next on the table will be a cuff bracelet in blacks/grays for my friend Joan's daughter. 

 I have those awesome labradorite disks that will work perfectly. 

Bead Happy and Often !

It was NEVER My Intention

to cause harm.  Really.  Truly.  I am heartbroken over this.  But I have been contacted by a member of the Tuscarora Nation that my posts on the subject are being seen as, umm, I guess you could say an infringement on their culture and I've been asked to stop sharing the stitch techniques.  I can only assume they feel they should be the only ones to share this knowledge and they want to choose with whom they share it.  I think that is a shame.   I've never been  competitive and it's just my nature to want to share.    I am truly sorry for offending anyone.

All posts in which I have shared the techniques have been deleted (a mere 2 posts, I might add), as well as my YouTube videos (a whopping 3).   I will also discontinue the Tuscarora Tuesday posts.  I will continue to admire and appreciate the history of the pieces, but will no longer actively promote the preservation of this art form.

I came across this a while ago and thought it very appropriate to share with you now:

AMEN TO THAT.

Tuscarora Tuesday

So much to see in this case!

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Clicking on the pictures should bring you even closer.

 I could study them for hours!

Almost didn't see the little strawberry tucked in here!

So sweet they are!

Speaking of Sweet -- today is Hannah's Sweet 16! 

We celebrated by going to The Chocolate Bar, of course!

Hannah, Pete, Meghan

Thanks for the Feedback!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their feelings on the wedding invitation.  Even my 19 year-old took one look at it and said "ouch".  And I swear I didn't say anything to her before she saw it!  

If anyone (other than Marty) is interested in learning my "zipper stitch", here's the link to a post I did and here's the YouTube video I made on it. 

Enjoy :)

"Wedding" Purse

After shipping off my purse to Beading for A Cure, I kicked myself in the rear and started one for me.

This is the dress I'll be wearing to my niece's wedding in August and then another wedding (friend of my husband) in September:

(It's got some shimmer to it, though you can't tell)

And here's the start of my purse to match it.  The velvet isn't really that shiny in person - its a nice rich brown.

I used my favorite "zipper stitch" border, but this time I left some space in between the two rows and added 4 mm bicones in the space.  I really am happy with it.  It feels so good to just 'play' again - not following a pattern and just experimenting.  I'm going to put more leaves and vines along the edge and around the flower too.

If I don't get it finished by my niece's wedding, the next one isn't until September 18, so hopefully I'll get it done by then. 

Ok, so now I'd like your opinion on something.   We received the invitation to the September wedding yesterday and this is how it was addressed on the inside envelope:

My immediate reaction was "How RUDE".  If you don't know my name by now, perhaps you should have asked Pete or at the very least address it as "Mr. and Mrs. Pete Batt."  I sooooo want to write out their gift check as Jason Miller and Wife.  Am I being overly sensitive????  Please be honest - Pete laughed when he saw it.  I guess I just don't see the humor.

Tuscarora Tuesday

~Sigh~ 

What a beautiful collection in this display box.

I love the braiding around this frame.

I see the frame and the wall pockets have the same fringe I learned in my last class.

Sweet little lacey border on this one.

Interesting geometric design.

Bead Happy and Often !