Cleo is open for review

Cleo is completed!!!

She is a beauty!

I could not get a good shot of the tiny details.   This necklace consists of five tubes of the tinyest bead (size 15's) & two tubes of a tubular bead called a delica, along with numerous Czech beads for a focal point. 

It was so very time consuming but worth it all in the end.  It is a dressy necklace, with all of the its sparkle and Czech beads.  I have NO where to wear it, even though I love it so much.  (Therefore, I will be putting it up for sale, if you are interested.)  It just needs a good home and a fun place to wear it!

My first attempt of taking a photo is on a dress form I found for, (guess who?) 

 LuLu of course!  (http://coastalsistersnews.blogspot.com)

What do you think, LuLu, does she wear my necklace well?  Or is it a bit much?...lol

I hope you enjoy seeing my interpetation of
 Jimmie's Cleo.

She was a pleasure to finally  put into my "COMPLETED' file.

Have a wonderful and productive weekend!

Sharon

p.s. Be sure to check out the latest stars that I have completed for the ladies cookie exchange.at church on Sunday.

BEADING AT LAST!!!

I am finally back at it!

I have been so busy with the Journals of Love, A Beautiful Life, & my Christmas albums that I have not been beading lately. (Way too many irons in the fire!) This week I have been beading once again. It feels so wonderful to be back creating my passion again. The above picture is a necklace that Jimmie Boatwright created. (She is a friend that I met at Hobby Lobby then again at the Atlanta Bead Company. We became fast friends and continue to keep in contact through beading.)

Jimmie has become a teacher and is creating way above my level already. She designed this lovely "Cleo". I am in love! I just had to make it! The necklace I am working on is three fourths done. Guess what happened.... I ran out of the size 15 bead. I did not know that it takes three tubes of the tiniest beads to complete this project. Well, I got all the the center and one half of the tassel part completed. I used every bead I had in a wonderful soft gold. Now what do I do??? I usually get my beads from Artbeads but this particular size and color came from a friend that I bead with, Deb. (I have written an email to her promising her anything I have in trade for just enough beads to finish.) I am such an impatient person. I wanted to complete it NOW! But once I get it finished I will have to show you what a stunning design piece.

I usually get together with my first bead teacher, BJ Kahn. She does such stunning pieces and has patiently guided me through each piece. I have learned brick, peyote, ladder, Russian Spiral, and numerous other stitches from BJ.

This week I just could not pass up the class that Jimmie was teaching. She developed this pattern all by herself. Isn't it Divine? For some it may be a wee bit much, but for me.....I think it is fabulous!

I have been working on more Christmas ornaments. I finished one this evening but I have a feeling my tree will have a very limited amount of my hand beaded ornaments this year. They are a lot of work (several hours and alot of beads are involved) but they are turning out beautifully.

We are having company this weekend so I just wanted to stop in and tell you that I am still around. Beading, around and around....lol

Have a wonderful week of creating beautiful works of art!

I would love to hear what you personally think of the necklace that I am working on....

Blessings to you, dear blogger buddies.

Sharon

A Penny & A Purse & Christmas

My first Christmas project complete! I had a lawn ornament ball that lost the little bird on top. I just could not leave well enough alone. I unscrewed the pole, glued an electric connector to the top (after drilling a hole through the top of the connector). Can you tell that the top is made from a electical connector? I began by stringing a copper chain through the hole to hang the ball from. Then started adding the smallest size 15 seed beads in a variety of sizes in golds and bronzes. Once I reached the top of the silver ball I started making a nettingof red to go all the way around the ball, in all directions. (I had to make up a pattern as I went along because the ball is 12 inches around.) I then added a ring around the center line with a delica gold herringbone stitch. I added loops in gold size 11 beads, then made the crystal drops with a silk thread and a muted gold bead for the accent dangle. ( I am thinking that I will add a tassel at the very bottom in a variety of golds.) But this is as far as I have gotten, for now.
A Penny & A Purse:

Yesterday, during the heavy storms, my daughter came over to show me a new idea! Do you like my new purse? It is so tiny is won't even hold the Penny laying next to it. Aren't these just the cutest? (The pennies are another project that I got the idea from "Just Something I Made".)I had just gotten in a patten leather look red from Artbeads.com and I had the black delicas in my stash. She got me started and I couldn't quit until I got the pair of earrings completed. (It is simply an octagon folded in half.)

I then hung them on 14K gold ear ring hoops. Now I am all dressed up and ready to go...somewhere.

My photography leaves a lot to be desired but maybe you can get an idea of how sweet these little ones are up close.

I know I will be making many more of these!

Thank you all for your lovely encouraging comments and your sweet emails to me. It is such a blessing to get to know each one of you better. It is so interesting how similar our lives are entwined.

Sharon

The choice is Katheryn Elizabeth

We want to thank each and every one of you for sending such lovely name suggestions! My baby doll finally has a new name:

Katheryn Elizabeth

Doesn't that name "just fit" her?

As you can imagine, it was a VERY hard decision for us to make. With many discussions and weighing which name was best....Katheryn Elizabeth was it! But thank you again for playing along! (I will be sending this lilac necklace to the winner tomorrow or the next day. The winner is a non-blogger and wanted to keep their name private.) I want to thank her for sending Katheryn's name for us. For the bloggers that sent in a sweet name suggestion, we want to thank each one of you! (So does Katheryn Elizabeth!)

Tonight I had an offer about posting my jewelry in their online store! (When we get all of the details worked out I will let you know all of the good news.) In the mean time, I had been praying for some way to show my jewelry to more people who might want to buy a piece or two. (I have sold several pieces,which I am truly grateful for, but it is not moving as quickly as we wanted.) Money is short here in our abode, like so very many families. I have so much money invested in the materials that are waiting to be turned into something gorgeous. Plus I have over 150 pieces made up and no one needs that many pieces of jewelry "just hanging around". I have received emails from several successful bloggers, trying to help me find the right direction to pursue. I considered trade shows, art shows, consignment and about every avenue that I could think of with very little success.

Wish me lots of blessings and whisper a prayer that the Lord will bless this adventure or shut the door. I am open to whatever the Lord has for us.

Once again, I want to thank Lynn of http://lynnslovelies.blogspot.com for making Katheryn's lovely wardrobe!!! Her work is so beautiful!!!

Be sure to keep in touch & drop me a comment once in a while.

I love hearing from you!

Blessings to you all.

Sharon

p.s. The little girl picture,at the top, is from a card I sent my Momma in 1983 and she dated it & kept it amongst her other collection of cards. Isn't she precious? You may use her in any project for your personal use if you will right click on her to save. I saved it in a 300 dpi format so that you can enlarge her for a card or whatever your imagination wants. Please do not sell this in a collage or package. Thank you.

Leaves on leaves!

I wanted to show you what I have been doing for the last several days! I used the Floral Motif pattern, twisted and turned the leaves into a 3D effect. I put two leaves on top of each other in the center & started to build from there. This one is made with gold plated delicas and a mauve hex delica. Each leaf is a little different shades of the two blended together. I started using more of the gold with a little mauve accent then as I headed for the back I used more mauve than gold. (I can not get the camera to take a good picture so that you can see the correct coloring, sorry.) I added a deep mauve crystal bicone in the center of the cluster & used them to separate & attach each leaf. The closer is an antique cuff link with a peyote ring to hold it secure.

What do you think?

What is YOUR favorite color combinations?

Let me know IF you want me to make another one in a different colors....

Sharon

Ravoli Lace

I have been busy and this is the first piece that is completed this week. It is lovely shades of peacock blue with a gorgeous large ravoli in the center. I finished off the ravoli with a lace "skirting" on each side. I closed it with a wide gold clasp. On the lace I started with a dark blue/green size 15 (very small) bead and graduated up to a lighter ruffle. This is all on top of a peyote base of even darker & larger peacock shaded beads.

Are there ever days when you can't quite get anything completed? Well, today is my day for numerous projects with the house cleaning nagging in the back of my mind. I started on covering a letter holder that I have been wanting to do. I forgot to take a picture of it before I started. My goal was to make into a Vintage/Victorian dresser set. It is coming along but it took me until 2:00AM to finish covering just the base. Now I am studying it to see what comes next. I want to add Vintage accessories to add to it but nothing has "hit" my creative juices yet.

I also have a square box that will be lovely once it is done. I made some organza roses in brown, white, pink & mauve and I thought I would use one of them on the top.

I also have a frame to finish for my daughters Mothers day gift from the silhouettes of my grand daughters.

So as you see I have numerous unfinished projects that I MUST get to. I want to make one thing at a time and try to forget that my list is growing by the minute. I was going to include pictures of the desk letter holder and the box but now my battery is dead on my camera and I have to charge it. I guess, I will leave all of this mess (while my battery is charging) and go take a nap. As nothing is coming together I will lay down and try to regroup. Once my camera is charged and I can get the pics I will post the update....a nap is on schedule...zzzzzzzz

What a wonderful life!

Ms. Frances Harrell, 91 years young

Ms. 2009 Nursing Home Queen!

Truly I am blessed!

I had a lovely weekend! On Saturday, my daughter had a photo shoot and asked me to go along. She was photographing the "Ms. Georgia Nursing Home Pageant". Now you may think, "how boring" but I had such a good time. The ladies were truly beautiful! Funny, witty, sweet, and so very precious is only a small description of those valiant women. Just think of the history they have seen! It is mind boggling to think that some were in their 90's. Ninety years ago their lives were so different from ours today. They have lived through wars, raising their babies, rations, storms, laughter, & pain.

As each one came to have their pictures taken, I had the privilege of speaking with each one. They had to be in a nursing home, they had to pass their local competition, make a scrapbook of their lives & they had to bring a representative from the nursing home & a nurse. They had their nails/hair/makeup all done to match their evening gowns. There were three of our Marine Officers to escort them up the runway. After they passed the interviews from the judges they choose five finalists then they interviewed the five again on stage. Then our own Ms. Georgia crowned the Queen! I was moved to tears several times during the whole event. Not just because I miss my Momma but because I love the wisdom of older women who have "been there done that". Their "faith" was refreshing & so very wise. (I did not know that they have been having a Ms. Georgia Nursing Home Pageant since 1979. You have to admire the work that goes into such an adventure. Mrs. Belinda Price & numerous others work so hard to make this event a special day for all!) Several of the ladies were so spunky & I had to laugh out loud when one of the ladies showed me a tattoo that she had on her breast. She said that I must get one, "it makes you feel sexy". I adored her & wished she lived closer to my town so that I could keep up with her. How fun that would have been.

Mrs. Harrell graciously accepted the award! She lives just down the road from my town in Lawrenceville, GA. I will love to keeping up with her life over this next year. What a precious treasure she is to her beautiful family & to her state of Georgia!

While Melissa was "working" I had the time to bead a little. I made this Herringbone Belted Cuff. It is made with soft jet black triangles woven in a herringbone pattern. Wow, what a lot of work. Then I ended the belt part with a beautiful gold delica bead in a brick stitch. Next I made the "buckle" from the same gold bead and topped that with a deep cranberry red Czech crystal. It is quite stunning and the bracelet is soft as a fabric because the beads were so small.

While at the convention I sold three of my very favorite pieces. (It is so hard to let any of them go but when I get attached to a piece it is like tearing a part of me away.) But the lady that bought it seemed to love it as much as I did. (It is kinda' like giving away a puppy/if it goes to a good home it seems to be a little less painful).

So, I did have a good weekend. Time with my best friend, meeting such beautiful women, going to worship the Lord and a much needed nap too. Truly, I am blessed.....thanks for stopping in!

Have a wonderful week ahead....sharon

Right Angle Weave, Anyone!

I have been working on the yard so I haven't gotten much done in the beading area of my life. I had these "spacers" from another bracelet and I really liked the design feature so decided to make another bracelet. I used a right angle weave out of luscious golden black larger beads (size 8). I added the spacers as I went along on every fifth row. (I like using odd counts whenever I want to make pieces come out correctly) From there I just made it up as I went along. My favorite colors are usually purples, emeralds and bright colors but this bracelet "told me" what to do. I ended up adding a bright gold Checz bead on the top to add drama to the spacers. I wanted the closer to be hidden so I just added a hook and eye. The bracelet went pretty fast but sometimes I think it is just the mood I am in whether it goes smoothly or not. I have not felt challenged lately so I must get out my files and find something to "get me in the mood" again. There is a huge stock of beads (plus a lot of money invested) above my desk just waiting to become something beautiful.

Today was a perfect Sunday! We got up early and went to church...good...then a quick lunch..okay..then a long nap....very good! So I guess I am up a long night. I shouldn't have slept so long but it was so nice being snuggled up with my dog, Sweetie. I just could not get around to making myself be productive today.

JoAnn has a saying on the header of Moss Hill Studio http://mosshill.blogs.com/joannas_journal/ that I just can't get out of my brain. "Do not look at your gifts as a possession, but as an expression of WHO gave them to you!" (This saying can be taken two ways....the love gifts given one to another or the talents/gifts that God has given us; I prefer the latter.) Since waking I have had a this fellow blogger on my heart and I just can't shake the concern & prayers. Her husband is in need of all of our prayers. Please keep him & her in your prayers. I KNOW there are a band of prayer warriors out there. There are times when ONLY the Lord can help. Please, if the Lord brings them to your mind, whisper a prayer for them. (Isn't it wonderful that we can touch each others lives through prayer?) Also, be sure to check out her blog today.
Bless you on this beautiful spring day...Sharon
P.S. Thank you for stopping in to read my words. You are greatly appreciated!

Creating Gone Wild!

This is the finished product of my creating gone wild! Do you remember the "Holler for Hoops" that I created a couple of days ago? I just could not leave well enough alone......
What is this mess, you ask? I wanted to show the process that I went through to make this newest bracelet. It started off with a pattern by Jonna Holston of Kernersville, N.C. that I got out of the Bead & Button Magazine. I had moved this pattern from desk to desk, I filed it a couple of times and kept bringing it back out, hoping to "someday" get around to making the earring. Saturday Melissa came over with that very pattern made up & it was lovely. The ear ring was relatively easy so I made four pair in different colors. As I was making another pair, I laid one on top of the others. "Now wouldn't that make a lovely bracelet?", I thought to myself. So I made eight separate ear rings and started playing around. I thought maybe I might make a continuous petal effect so I stitched together three of them. Then I realized that the "petal" effect was eventually, going to cover up the copper crystallized Czech beads. So I sewed three more together and thought I could hook them together in the center but it just did not look the way I wanted. I then sewed two of the earrings opposite of each other and added a larger Czech bead in the center of the two ear rings. I proceeded to sew them all together in the fashion that you see in the finished product. Beading is very very time consuming but when one enjoys the process, time just seems to pass so quickly. When I looked up at the clock, my eyes were very strained but even then I could not believe that I had been beading for 12 hours with very few breaks. It was 6:39AM!

I wanted to thank Jonna for the great pattern that lead to my newest bracelet. I hope that she will be pleased with the results.....Sharon

Nothing but net

"Nothing but Net"

I am finally finished ! I love netting but it takes so very long. I hope you can see the touch of gold with a beautiful peach "Charlotte" cut bead. Oh, yes and it is reversible!!! The front side that I have pictured is a lovely creamy pearl then on the reverse side it is more peachy with gold accents. (Sorry that I forgot to take a picture of the reverse but the sun went down way to fast.) If you would right click on the picture it will enlarge so you can see the details. Don't you think this looks like something from Queen Victoria's jewels? It is so feminine sweet. Too girly for some ladies but definitely romantic stuff! I stopped counting at 18 hours that I put into this creation. The seed beads are tiny and it is difficult to get the fireline through the last few passes. The "catch" is made of antique buttons and I made it for a small or larger wrist by leaving out the creamy pearls in the last two rows. I did not want to buy a hard catch for the closer because the bracelet just lends to a softer look. I am really pleased at the outcome! Now I am anxious to move onto something without a pattern for my next piece.

Today I took my hubby to get his eyeballs measured. All went well except they told him that they would not operate on the second eye until April. We don't have a clue about this surgery so we had to ask anyway. Dahhh! We just thought while he was healing or whatever he may as well do them both at the same time. Sounds reasonable? He will not go in for the first surgery until March 25th and has to go for post-op the next day. Thank you for those who have had him in their thoughts and prayers today! We need all the prayers we can get, don't we? We went to Costdo to get the drops to put in the eye and when the man said $73.00 we could not believe it. $73.00! Thank the Lord that they gave him the other two perscriptions at the doctors office! They, of course, were out of the most expensive one. Anyway, thank you for your kind words. God bless you all!

Sharon

Work in Progress

This peyote"Dimensional Diamond" pattern was made from a flat sheen tiny bead called a Delica and then I added very shiny multicolored larger beads to make the diamond effect. It was extremely time consuming because the beads were so small but it is very comfortable to wear.

This is "a work in progress". I found out how to make a Russian Spiral and I made this up a couple of days ago. I made the cabasone to hang down from the center but am waiting for inspiration to figure out how to hook the two together. I enjoyed the process of the spiral and hope to make something else with this pattern. I like to make two or three things from the same pattern so that I will know how to do it again for future reference. (It takes a lot for my brain to absorb the weave and then to retain it.) By the way I did NOT go to the bead show that was just down the road from me! I wanted to and just about gave in but my Grand daughter, Beth, has her 12th birthday this week and we are to go out to celebrate. Soooo I made myself stay home and set with my hubby on the back patio and watch the birds, squirrels and flowers. Just think of the money I saved him!

Bugle Lariats

I wanted to show you the latest project! BJ came over last week to my home and this is one of the classes that she taught us. The first Lariat is from her original pattern and the second pictures are from an earring I purchased at the Kidney Foundation. I thought it made up really well and hope that someone else loves it! I am to go to the "Shopping Extravaganza" that Melissa has arranged this Wednesday evening in Cummings. Please pray that I will sell some of my jewelry. We sure need it. Number one I can only wear so much jewelry and number two Christmas is just around the corner and things are really close for us.
I had a lot of problems sleeping last night so my sweet hubby let me sleep in which meant that I missed church today. I hate that but I would probably have gone to sleep anyway.