Thank You Thursday

I'd like to say a big thank you to Sharri of the Beaded Bead for inlcuding my herringbone necklace in this lovely treasury!

'An Autumn Thank You' by TheBeadedBead

Thanks to some of the wonderful etsy folks who featured my work in their Treasuries this summer!

Dreamy Ocean Jasper Rin... betsybensen $155.00	Crocheted, felted cuff... originaltlcbag... $25.00	Copper and Green Earthy... AsteropeBC $30.00
Earth Tones Lampwork Gl... juliechristie $35.00	Handmade Circle Enamel ... SharonJohnsonD... $22.00	Vtg 40s Opulent Feather... LimBoVintage $40.00
ON SALE 30% OFF - Embro... flamelilyphoto... $28.00	Crochet scarf in Choco... whitewolfsclou... $29.00	Halloween Inspired, Mix... KLHoey $60.00
Ring in linen threads a... ifatcreations $20.00	Trapezoid Earrings in C... CityRusticJewe... $30.00	Vintage Tin Box, Candy ... calloohcallay $34.00
Linen Cotton Tote Bag ... byKamile $22.00	Earth stripes mooz $80.00	Tree Leaves in a Mist S... BlueStarrGalle... $22.00
Nuno felted Wrap Scarf... JaneBoFelt $105.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Sharri makes beautiful beaded beads.  Her work has been published many times in books and magazines.    I love her purple and silver Round Focal Beaded Bead!

Sharri has lots more beaded beads, jewelry, and supplies in her shop - it is well worth a visit!

Wordless Wednesday

Serendipity

Sometimes little special moments crop up at inconvenient times, when it doesn't fit our schedules to stop and enjoy them.  I had a situation like this last week.  I was running late to my car pool.  I needed to get my kids to the sitter and get going to work.  I had just gotten everyone herded out to the car when my youngest said, "Look, balloons!"

At that moment, I had a choice.  I could say, "That's-nice-now-get-in-the-car."  Some days I do.  This day, I ran back into the house and got a camera.  There were four hot air balloons that appeared to be landing at an airfield near our house.  I took a few moments to enjoy them with my kids and snapped some photos.  Then I stuffed the camera into my purse, and off we went.

Fast forward to the evening, when I finished work.  I work in the center of a large building.  Whether I am at my desk or in the cleanroom, I generally cannot see a window.  This day was not uncommon; I had worked 9 or 10 hours without stopping for breaks or lunch.  When I first step outside into the parking lot, it is such a release to see the outdoors again.  We have a beautiful campus (I really should take more breaks).  I often see some scene that just seems breathtakingly beautiful and think, I wish I had a camera.

Well, this time I did have a camera!  I took some photos of the way the light was slanting across a dry field and through a copse of trees.

If I hadn't stopped to enjoy the balloons with my kids, I wouldn't have had the camera to capture this scene after work.  Two happy moments for the price of one :)

Have you had any moments of serendipity?  I'd love to hear about it.

Picasso Challenge

I've decided to participate in the Etsy Beadweavers Team October Challenge "Inspired by Picasso".  I started out by doing a Google search for Picasso images.  When I found one I liked, I threw that image into the search bar to find more like it (up to that time, I hadn't realized it was possible to search and image that way).  The painting I chose to inspire my beadwork piece is Dance of the Veils, from Picasso's African period.

 I like this painting because of the sense of motion Picasso was able to convey with geometric shapes.  I especially liked the curving triangles with the heavy black outlines and the cross-hatching.  I decided that this outlined, curved triangle was the shape I wanted to feature in my beadwork piece.

I made my first attempts during my recent camping trip.  After I came home, I continued to work on it.  It took me many tries to get the shape to look the way I wanted it to.

Attempt 1:  Not technically feasible

Attempt 2:  Too suggestive

Attempt 3:  Too Rounded

Attempt 4:  Too curly

Finally I managed to make some curving triangles that had just a little bit of curl (I like the 3-D curl, attempt 4 just had a bit too much curl).  I sewed my new triangles together into a bracelet.

Now I need to attach a clasp that won't detract from the bracelet.  I like the clean lines that the triangles make.  I don't want to attach the clasp to the tips of the triangles because I think that will obscure their pointiness (is that a word?).  I will probably attach the clasp to the long side of the two ending triangles.

So if you were going to do a Picasso-inspired project, which painting or period would you choose?  Or would you want to choose a different artist all together?

My First Blog Hop

I found Aquarianne's Autumn Blog Hop through the Blog Team today.  I thought I would give it a try - my first blog hop!  It puts me in mind of my first sock hop :).

Here is the button for the hop:




Stop by and join in, if you like!

Thank You Thursday

I had the good fortune to be featured in an absolutely beautiful treasury this week.  Thank you for featuring my necklace!

'Woodland Romance' by LittleBunnySueSue

Thank you NanaMontana for the title! Don't forget to leave a comment and make it a favorite!

Birch bark covered jour... NHWoodscreatio... $37.50	Woodland Romance Rustic... NanaMontana $595.00	Woodland jewelry Tree o... Arctida $99.00
real moss necklace terr... museglass $56.00	Custom order - 1 Woodla... Fairyfolk $3.00	Handmade pottery mugs s... LittleWrenPott... $26.00
Necklace, Leaf Green & ... AsteropeBC $30.00	ivory flower woodland h... thehoneycomb $25.00	Bird House Woodland Cop... BeeGracious $265.00
Squirrel Necklace - Woo... chloesvintagej... $28.00	Glass bottle necklace W... WoodlandTrinke... $12.00	Moss Necklace - Green E... TheWhirlwind $30.00
Woodland Willow Deer Fo... pinkorbluedesi... $20.00	Woodland Creature Squir... FelixStreetStu... $42.00	Rustic Wedding Sign, Mr... naturallyaspen $39.00
Woodland Fairy Bib Neck... TrueRebelCloth... $30.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Carol and Allison make the cutest baby clothes, bibs, burp cloths (always a big must with my kids), and more.  This trick-or-treat bag is perfect for Halloween!

Who would you like to thank this Wednesday?

Down By the River - Summer Nostalgia

Now that summer is over, the kids are back in school and the days are getting shorting, I feel nostalgic.  The summer fun we had only a few weeks ago seems a long way off now.

We took a camping trip a few weeks ago in the Mt. St. Helens area. During the day we played and took in the local sights.  In the evenings, we often took the kids down to different parks along the Toutle River to let them wade and play in the sand.

The kids really enjoyed experimenting with erosion.  OK, I thought it looked like a geology lab.  They thought they were making a cool waterfall by digging cliffs into the sand then pouring water over it.

This is a representation of Mt. St. Helens.  It's creator enthusiastically threw sand up to simulate the big eruption for my photo :)

One evening we saw four river otters swim by us.  I was a little slow with my camera.  I got a great photo of the back of one otter's head and a blurry photo of one floating on his back.  They kind of came out looking like the Loch Ness Monster.

One evening there were hundreds of little frogs.  The kids had a great time catching them.

There is a lot of volcanic ash along the river from the eruption.  One park we visited had a volleyball court and play structure built with ash instead of sand.  I think this piece of play equipment is the best use of ash I have seen.  The kids loved it.

After a few hours by the river we came back to camp for dinner.  After dinner we would sit around the fire and wind down with smores and chat.  Very relaxing!

What are some of your favorite summer memories?