'SUPER' Beadwork Magazine

In case you hadn't seen the news, apparently Beadwork is going 'super', including a newsstand price tag of around $15?Bead-Patterns the Magazine, every project will include step-by-step photos, drawings & complete instructions to insure your success & enjoyment! Each exciting issue features wonderfully wearable jewelry, great gift ideas and colorful beaded pictures in a variety of stitches including Peyote, Brick, Square, Herringbone, & Loom. You will also find friendly, informative articles, interviews, news, book & product reviews, hints & tips and so much more!
Issue Previews: http://www.bead-patternsmag.com/cms/content/view/491/171/Bead-Patterns the Magazine project albums: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bead-Patterns-the-Magazine/123716310991589?v=photos&sb=8


http://e1.interweave.com/dm?id=3BFFB7B3A95C0C03845DD1C36CF92669A8A08A1C4125C7AD
I hope I got all the spaces removed so the links work.I just re-upped my subscription for two years, after contacting Beadwork, and they are so far keeping the subscription price at $22.95 for one year, $39.95 for two years.I bet they were losing alot of money on the issues shipped to stores and then not being bought.It is a great time to renew or subscribe!

Whew!

Lots of snow, lots of great times with family, plenty of good food, and a whole sh#tload of snow! To me, that is the recipe for a perfect Winter Holiday!

But yes, I did bead- a bit.

Here is a pair of earrings I made to go with the Holiday Donut- that went to a friend who fell in love with it, and whose birthday is generally ignored by her family(Dec 28- she gets 'Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday' all in the same sentence!).

Here is a few photo of the early snowfall- we ended up with 8-12 inches, depending on which side of the house you walk.

May the Love in your Life ever grow, your thread remain free of knots,

your beads sorted, your Muse happy, and your tree always upright!

Best of the Season to you all!

Slightly demented, but still fun

I don't know why, but I like Hello Kitty...but trying

to make a peyote version for the top of a reclaimed

container didn't work out as planned. Still, I think I

like this one just as well, and call her Hell Kitty-

check out her eyes-she got attitude! Carrying an Uzi,

well, a girl has to do what she has to do! Especially at

those after Christmas sales!! She is wearing her best

purple Prada shoes, and means business!!

Enjoy!

Santa's and Mrs. Santa's belly buttons...

These turned out to be alot of fun!

Susan Elliot of http://playswithneedles.blogspot.com/

showed these made with circular pretzels and milk chocolate

kisses the other day. I was intrigued, and as I wanted to

make alot of small food gifties for principals, etc, they seemed

just the ticket!

I liked the idea of trying it with the Hugs- the white

chocolate striped kisses. Here they are, ready to go

into the oven. Had to lower the temperature from

350 to 300 degrees, but still baked them for 3 minutes.

These I call Mrs. Santa's bellybuttons- they are the

peppermint striped flavor, and really appreciated the

lower 300 degree temp for baking- also chopped off

30 seconds of baking time, for a total of 2.5 minutes

for these pretties.

Don't they look yummy??!!Just try making them

and NOT eating a few...

Happy Holidays, everyone!

It's not only official, but it shows!

OK, I admit it....I am a BEAD SLUT! Can't leave them alone....walk the aisles in WallyWorld, sneering at most of their beady offerings but still fondling, even as I leave the area. Can be found poking about in the 'mens' section, looking for yet more storage that works, is easy to transport, and that I can actually SEE my beads without opening.

And the kicker? I, sob, couldn't leave them alone long enough to finish one measly little scarf! Told myself it was because I wanted fatter knitting needles(those 6s were going to take the rest of my life, nevermind how nice the scarf was turning out!). So, bought the 15s, but did I knit?? You MUST be kidding....I heard these cute little glass ornaments, about an inch wide calling out to me.....'we want beads',' pick us-pick us', and 'you know you want to do it'!

So, not being able to resist either them OR the beads, I took a few hours (netting always takes longer than you think, on the first project of a different size-for me, anyhow) and covered them with netting after gluing the tops securely in place with Gluesmith Glue. Then shoved 3mm and 4mm Czech FP rounds into any spaces they would fit, filled in others with more netting, and VOILA! Wore one to lunch with friends, and they liked it!

Callie Catt tested them for sturdiness by pushing them off my beading table 3 foot to the hard wooden floor. They bounced nicely!

I wish I had bought more- they came 12 to a plastic box for a dollar....

Back to the scarf...happy beading, everyone!

It's ba-ack!!!

Lynn M has decided to re-open Beaded Art Dolls yahoogroup, with the hopes that the folks who join will be as excited about beading, dolls, and harnessing your Muse to those, as well as sharing photos of your creations!
I am so happy about this- Bead Embroidery is my first love in beads, and when BAD went silent for this past year, it took a little something out of my creative process. I don't know about you, but being the only person for miles and miles and miles that loves this, I depend on sharing via the internet, to push my techniques, sense of color and reach for new styles.
If you are interested, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beaded_art_dolls/ and hit that 'Join this Group' button at top of page.
Hope to see you there!!

The colors of snow

The Eskimos have, well, I forget exactly how many different words for snow, but there are many. Surely some of those words have to do with all the different colors snow seems to have.

Much of the coloration has to do with reflection from its surroundings, as well as from the sky. Still, I have always loved the subtle shifts and play of color found in a fresh bed of snowfall.

Here are a couple for you to enjoy!

OK I tried, I really tried!

There is the old Yoda saying 'Do, or do not-there is no try', and boy, did he ever have it right.
I tried to stay away from beads, long enough at least to complete all my crocheted gifties, but all I thought about were my beads, and what I wanted to make. It didn't help that the yarn colors I am working with are black, soft grey and a mix from LionBrand; not exactly exciting enough to keep my mind off beads, colorful beads, beautiful beads!!
So, I thought I could just sneak in a little beading time-he-he-he. Most of a morning, that turned out to be. And I helped 'the cause' along by trying to make my circular knitting needle shorter by snipping off the center wire, then re-attaching it. Tried heating with a candle and mushing together- nope. How about some of my Gluesmith Glue??Pah! Forget it. Oh well, resort to duct tape? That works, but then there are those nasty edges that will catch the yarn...so how about some Aileen's white glue to fill in the gaps, and of course, it needs several hours to dry, so why not bead????
Excuses, excuses...still not sure my 'fix' of the circular needle will work, and as our Walmart sees not fit to have the double-ended needles for sale (and yes, I was drawn to them last Saturday, while perusing AC Moore and trying to figure out how to spend my 51% off coupon-twice!), I am going to have to put with however it does work to finish what I had in mind.
Still, I now have another beautiful ornament/pendant- Heirloom Treasures by Cathy Lampole is the original, found in the current Bead and Button magazine (Dec 2010-Jan 2011)pg 34. Great pattern, but didn't want to haul out any more glass balls, so got myself free of making all the little components. That led to 'why not embellish a little more', seeing as I had all that time waiting for the glue to dry on the knitting needle? It turned out two-sided because of that; one fancy- one not so much.
This is the result- I hope you like it- I do!

'Vintage' findings??

Who cares if they are true vintage or not? They look great, and were certainly priced right at $3 each- now I have to figure out how to get the magnets glued on the back off. It isn't hot glue, probably something like E6000. The woman said they were parts of old belts- I think they will make lovely cabs for pendants or cuffs.

Click on any photo to make it full size.

Winter fun!

SNOW! Finally, snow for US! Enjoy the pics..

Still more

Gotta love the metal beads, even though the plating sucks. If your project won't be in contact with the skin that much, they are perfect with RAW!

I actually used mononfilament fishing line with these. I know, I know, but it tolerated the pulling tight with the sharp edges of the metal beads and the 2.5mm bicones.

More Gifties

I always forget how much I enjoy working with crochet and soft yarn, until it gets cold! Here are a couple of gifts that are from a free pattern at http://lionbrand.com/ called 'Wristers'. I have seen longer versions in the younger-set's clothing magazines, like Alloy. They work up fast (once you get over having to admire how each row looks, before starting another LOL).

I tried using the fuzzy yarn with the fat yarn, but had trouble keeping all those ends from tangling up, so just went back over the tops when they were finished, and added the furry bits.
Try THAT with your knitting needles ROFL! Really, I am truly the knit-impaired, but can crochet just about anything.

Enjoy!

Time for Gifts!!

I don't know about you, but I love making and receiving

handmade gifts! Whether they took hours or minutes to

create, something of the giver remains in these, unlike the

'very best' store-bought gifts!

These are two pair of Hawk feather earrings, for a very

good friend's daughters.

I hope they enjoy them!

Breaking with 'The Big T'

Most folks don't even give this a thought...the Big 'T', or Tradition,

rules many holidays in our lives. Indeed, Tradition rules

much of most aspects of our lives. We go to certain restaurants, visit

certain relatives (and avoid others), etc, etc, all without thinking

of whether we really enjoy any of it.

I am tossing Tradition out this year, at least as far as

decorating my tree with the things I want to see on it for a month.

If my two daughters want the traditional decorations, they will have

to drag them out of their boxes in the spare room and put them on

when they come to visit.

What a relief it is to not even THINK about hauling all that mess out!

There were bits and bobs of unfinished pendants, pendants I would

ever wear, beaded dolls (including my Fish!), as well as some

honest-to-goodness beaded ornaments or ornaments with beaded

covers- all these are going onto the tree.

Everything on the tree this year is something I made, and will be fun

to look at in the softly glowing lights of an evening.

I wonder if anyone else will be inspired to toss some Traditions out

the window, and begin one of their own??

You may notice doubles of some of the photos- I tried to get Blogspot

to not turn some sideways, but gave up, and it is a pain to remove the old!

As always, click on any photo to make it full-size.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!