Twins!

As a thank you swap with my painter-artist friend, Cindy, I made her a bracelet.

Well, I liked it so much I had to make myself a similar one.  I have this aversion to making identical pieces (where's the fun in that??!  oh - maybe that's why I can't make earrings......hmmmmm), so I used the same beads but arranged them (ok, fine - the beads arranged themselves, as usual- so I won't take the credit) in a slightly different manner:

Lynn's bracelet on bottom - Cindy's on top

Cindy's "cupcake" medallion

Lynn's "cupcake"

I don't know where or how I came up with studding the Swarovski crystals in this random pattern, but I LOVE it.  I used a mix of clear, jet, and smoke in various sizes with a bit of silver seeds sprinkled in.

Cindy's bling

I made the bling section on my cuff even larger and outlined the edge with the crystals too.  The play of light is spectacular when the cuff is worn.   Talk about BLING!

Lynn's Bling

Left Cuff - Lynn       Right Cuff - Cindy

I was pleasantly surprised at the ribbon pattern that emerged to separate the bling section.  I just alternated a small bugle, teardrop,small bugle and then three small bugles on the next row then outlined the strips with seed beads. 

When you see Cindy's cuff on, it looks like studded leather thanks to the use of the matte black beads.   Mine, not so much, but I do like the way the pattern that surrounds the center cupcake on mine looks like two sideways crowns.  Not that I think I'm the queen of anything, but it reminds me of the crown of my mantra "Keep Calm and Carry On".  Pretty neat.  

I didn't even see the crowns until I looked at my cuff from a distance.  Once again - the beads have a voice and I'm just their conduit.

~ Bling  Bead Happy and Often! ~

Do Bee do Bee do

Say What?

Now that my first BJP of 2012 was completed, I needed to get my Bee together so a random "Kind" flower had some meaning to it.

I must have been delirious when I started, because I reverted back to my 'old' way of doing things.  Using posterboard and pellon rather than a piece of Nicole's beadbacking.  After sketching out my bee and finishing the one wing, I realized I needed to color the black sections or the white pellon was going to show too much. 

I alternated between a rope stitch for the yellow stripes and a baby stack of size 8 and size 11 on the black.  Using a matte/opaque bead along with a 'bling' finish bead helped with the texture too.

His head is all stacks so he is a bit furry, just like a real bee.  I used sequins for his eyes.  The left eye outline was a bit off kilter, but I did take it out and redo it after this pic was taken. 

After he was trimmed up, I was going to give his wings some drama by adding these vintage drop beads, but I didn't really like the way it looked.  The simple two-bead edge in clear and silver lined was enough. 

I figured my garden should have a dragonfly or two, so I used some dragonfly fabric I had in my stash for the backing.

I have a feeling there might be a butterfly and a bird joining the garden before the year's end......oh, maybe a ladybug too! (no flies though.  I don't like flies)

See his eye is all fixed now :)

 Much better

BE Kind ......everyday.  

~ Bead Happy and Often ~

It's A Girl Thing

Having no brothers or nephews, it was only fate that my niece Ashlee's first baby would be :

Addison :)

A Girl!

Whoop Whoop! 

Girl's Rock.

I must have been channeling the girl vibe on a recent trip to some estate sales.  Normally I pick up fun little bowls or a tiny dish or two and of course, old glass jewelry.  Not this time.  These little cuties are the only things that came home with me:

 How sweet is this teensy tiny doll??

Her hands and feet are metal (lead?) and her arms and legs are all wrapped with a million threads.   But it's that sweet face of hers that I just adore. 

And she even stands on her own! 

Love her.

Here is her big sis, just as fabulous....

Look at these woven shoes - amazing.

And check out the tag I found on her skirt. 

I swear there are a few teensy tiny cross-stitch stiches on there.

Her plaid  head scarf is expertly wrapped and tied in the back

And ,yes, I did peak under her scarf. 
She has no hair - heck, she doesn't even have a full face, but she is still beautiful.

They sit on the shelf and watch over me as I bead at my (teensy tiny) beading corner. 

Bead Happy and Often!