http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2012/11/memories-and-thanks-blog-hop.html

This blog hop is both for Marianna and for those people in our lives who mean a lot to us -- a mom, a friend, a brother -- anyone who has meaning to us.  Create a piece of jewelry that tells that story.

For instance, Marianna loved red and cardinals, so if you would like to make something in honor of her, you could use red, or you could use beads of birds, leaves, trees, nests, eggs -- things like that.  If you have a friend you want to remember and thank and she's a painter, you could make a necklace full of the colors she often uses in her paintings.

If you would like to join this Blog Hop please click on the "blog button" above and it will take you to Pretty Things to sign up.

Lori Anderson ( creator of this blog hop) creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

PS. You need a blog to participate in this hop.


...as usual am hoping I did this correctly... 

from Beading Daily

Make Your Beadwork More Spiritual

The one thing that Native American beadwork techniques and stitches have in common is the belief that the time spent doing them to create beautiful objects is a way to honor the spirit world. So, take a deep breath and relax before you sit down to bead. Light a candle and focus your intentions before you pick up your needle and beads, and most of all, remember to enjoy your journey.

* * *

I so understand the above and agree with it. 

Ok - family and friends - I am asking for a bit of help.
Follow link to site, scroll down and please vote for me - it would be great to win this.

http://www.mirrixlooms.com/winamirrix.html 

For my beading friends, I will be glad to vote for you if you have a different item than mine that you want to win. 
  

What a nice gifting for one of us who beads:

http://flyviewsandreviews.blogspot.com/2012/10/huge-beadweaving-book-giveaway.html

I might be lucky. 

Tain't Fair - but that's the way it is

My favorite crafts are beading and ceramics.  The beading goes back to 1970 and I started ceramics in 1982.  This week and next is the Fair.  I judge the pottery & ceramics that are entered for adults, handicap and youth.  My fair entries are beaded items (7 categories).  Yesterday, I was doing ceramic judging and endured listening to the Beading Judge (who shall remain nameless) making disparaging remarks about various entries.  My mentor, Bonnie S. taught me that in judging you always make a positive comment about the item and politely point out an error if there is one.  The short version of this tale is that my following piece received a white (ribbon) which is 3rd place because "it is not symmetrical".  Nothing in the rules states pieces have to be symmetrical, only that it is beading.  This is an asymmetrical necklace:  

I should order a copy of the Lori's book and give it to the Building Supervisor who can pass it on to next year's judge especially if it is the same Bead judge as this year.  As my Gram used to say - "Anything worth doing is worth doing well".  Right now, I'm just laughing - especially when I consider the source.  I'm just glad I wasn't awarded a 'participation' ribbon.  It takes all kind and we're not missing a one of them. 

Our fair uses the Danish system:

The Danish system is a method of evaluation where a product or process is evaluated against a
set of standards, and recognition is awarded based on each competitor meeting those standards. In Danish system, the exhibitors are not judged against each other. 

And that is the lesson for today.  Still laughing and shaking my head. 

Bead Soup VI reveal

First, I have to apologize to Amy, my partner in this bead soup.  We had company for most of July and my beadroom is also a guest room and the clasp that Amy sent has been misplaced ... sigh.   I don't use gold very much, one of the many reasons I liked what Amy sent.  I used a clasp from my stash and of the three choices I had it was the best match for the necklace.   Company no sooner left and I came down with a 'summer cold' and have been miserable until now.  So here is the necklace with a very lovely focal.  I think the focal looks like a woodsy scene in the fog (or maybe it's the cold the has me fogged).  Amy - - thanks so much for the pieces.  This is being posted at Midnight Eastern Time - I'm on Pacific Time, but I'm not staying up that late.

And now the link (hopefully) so that everyone can go to the other blogs and see the wonderful jewelry that was created.  Bead Soup VI
 
Lori - thanks so much for hosting Bead Soup - you did a great job organizing this complicated Bead Soup.

~cryssT

Update - what I sent

Amy is my beadsoup partner -

      AmyJo designs and this is what I sent to her.

She has received them so here is the picture.

Bead Soup is keeping me busy on a number of levels.

Working on a design from the beads my bead soup partner sent me.

As well as Pretty Things Giveaway

What a wonderful amounts of things - 5 different sets of gifts.

 

Lori is an amazing woman with lots of energy.

Bead Soup - Link

Here's the banner and the link for Bead Soup -

Bead Soup VI

I am in the second reveal date of August 11.

Bead Soup update

Received beads from my partner Amy - she sent me lots of shinies.

Going to have some fun with these.

When she receives hers she can post what I sent. 

Ta Ta for now ....

Bead Soup Party

The 6th Bead Soup Party ..  Bead Soup   ..  starts in July and goes thru August and Lori has asked us to provide some background as to how we started in jewelry design.  I graduated from high school in 1972 - yep 40 years ago when flower power/hippies were pretty much the order of the day.  I grew up near Olympia, WA and at that time Shipwreck Beads was a small store west of Olympia on Mud Bay Flats.  It was a wonderful place to go to on a rainy Saturday and Olympia has lots of rainy Saturdays.  I would go there, sort through grams and pounds of beads to pick out that one special bead or string of beads, then off to Mike Cook's Antiques in Olympia or Garden Gate Antiques in Yelm to find clasps.  Back in those days colored embroidery thread conditioned with beeswax was used to make the necklaces and bracelets.  I moved to Spokane, WA in 1981, stopped beading and started in ceramics.  Fast forward to 2005, I was preparing to retire from my job and knowing that my husband and I were going to travel, I wanted a hobby that didn't take up a lot of space (ha!).  So a couple of bead magazines later followed by discussions and help from a friend who works at Wonders of the World bead store I entered the 21st Century of Beading.  I create pieces for personal use, gifts to family members and friends and also as donations to women's transition programs.  I mostly do stringing or bead weaving.       

Lots going on in my world at this time so have been beading not as often.  

Did complete this for a friend.  

She supplied the focal and traded me three other focals for the work. 

Works well for me.

 

Norse Rune

Created a necklace a few years ago for the youngest son who is involved in Amtgard/SCA activities.  Short version - the rune was cracked/chipped by another person.  I had another rune created to replace it and finished the necklace recently.  So .....

and this was the old one -

Treewings Studio GiveawayS

What wonderful giveaways - yes plural.  The cowgirl in me loves the horses. The beader in me wants the fox and friends.   Such pretty things.

http://www.treewingsstudio.com/2012/03/giveaway.html?showComment=1331949222357#c5207341991327315461

Tis the Season - for gifting

Happy Mango Beads has a Mardi Gras giveaway also

http://blog.happymangobeads.com/2012/02/win-the-mardi-gras-beads/#comment-1331

Earrings Everday Giveaway

Earring giveaway  And there are some wonderful Heart earrings to win.  7 will be lucky, maybe 1 will be me.
Winners announced on Sunday February 19th.

Snowflake

I received this kit in plenty of time, I allotted time to create the piece.  Then real life continued on.  I had the flu just after Christmas and humdinger of a cold on NYE.  I still have residuals (courtesy of asthma).  A nagging cough and wheeze and sinus stuff that you don't want the details of.  So on the 13th, I set down and finished the piece. The 14th, I took pictures and true to everything else that interfered in its completion, the cameras wouldn't cooperate.  My cell phone camera died, my husband's new Kodak wouldn't share and the old Kodak took four tries to get the connection to work.  /sigh.

That said - the piece is complete, I'm posting it now because Michelle doesn't mind and I'm not staying up till midnight.

It's sweet, I like it and it's going to a friend who grew up where it never snows (and I mean never) and has only seen snow occasionally in the last four years. 

Enjoy

and here's the other blogs (if I did this corretly).

• Alice (Alice Dreaming)
• Christa (Adventures of One Beady Woman)
• Crystal (Here Bead Dragons)
• Cynthia (Cynth's Blog)
  
• Dawn (Morning Glory Beading)
• Donetta (Simply Gorgeous)
• Erin A.
• Jennifer (JenniferJW)
• Jennifer (Jewelry, Art and Life)
  
• Kari W.
• Kate (We Can Make That at Home)
• Kay (Palm Coast Art)
• Linda (Lindy's Designs)
• Lisa C. (A Bead a Day)
  
• Lisa (Inspired Adornments)
• Mary (MLH Designs)
• Michelle (Beads & Books)
• Michelle B.
• Millie (AMM Jewelry)
  
• Norma (Moonlit Fantasies)
• Pam (The Crazier Sister)
• Rebecca J.
• Renetha (Lamplight Crafts)
• Rosemarie (Gem Rose Designs)
  
• Shannon (Falling into the Sky)
• Susan (Bead Inspired)
• Therese (Therese's Treasures)
• Therese (Domestic Goddess Enterprises)

Why is this - Here Bead Dragons?

Welcome 2012

i will post from time to time on my beading -
sometimes simple, sometimes complex
but i can tell you this -

those of us who beads are Dragons

we love to play with jewels
horde them, guard them
& always love to have more of them

yeah, sounds like Dragon to me