Busy! Oh yeah!

Can you say busy!!! Working, school, Kid's stuff, shopping, and the odd cuddle from any number of children!
So, pictures and great shared things and Beaded Journal Project will all be in the new year when I have a chance to show you, work out the computer chip stuff and play more!
I'm amazed that anyone posts on their blog at this time of year!!! Last night the kids and I made a gingerbread house and some peppermint bark! What a delicious evening!
Cheers all and
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Hi All!
These are the final pictures from my BFAC project. I don't think I ever posted them. The project got shipped off ages ago!
Now I'm doing some things, I made a necklace and matching earrings for a friend but I didn't take a picture. I also am working on a secret santa project that one of my daughters friends said was too tacky. So now I'm re thinking it!!! Argh, I may have to make something else!! I think it's kitchy and she doesn't know the difference so she couldn't really say but if I give it to this woman, I don't want her to think it's tacky. I'm rethinking it!!!
More later, this is definitely my busy time of year!!!
Cheers, Denise

Wow!!!!!

So much happening at this time of year!!! Want some pictures? I'll try and find some! We broke the hinges on the laptop, so it became a desk top. The laptop that still functions doesn't have any pictures on it at all!!! And, I couldn't seem to get on my blog with it, so instead of sitting on the couch, blogging and relaxing, I have to sit at the desk. Picture it.
Later same day....
I am beading! I am at school!! I am working!!!! I'll tell you more later,
No pictures but I'll be back - I had a visitor for coffee and I didn't get back to the computer. Now I'm off to work.
Pitiful post again. I am to do better!!!!
Cheers, Denise

A New Halloween Contest

Wanna play? Check out this!
Halloween!!!
I frequently visit The Voodoo Cafe and Rice encouraged us to encourage her friend Gabriel to post a very cool contest so here it is!
My mind is already playing with it and the ideas are churning! I might even get my daughter to help me with the story - she's so cool.
So think about it - go to the site and print out the black and white image!
Thanks Gabriel!
Cheers, Denise

beaded Face Swap

Mamarox hosts a beaded face swap at about this time of year. I missed it last year but there was no way I was going to miss it again! I only have time to make one but I did!. I absolutely love these wonderful little flower beads - and they look great with the triangle toho's and the clay face I made.
Now to get it in the mail in time for the swap! Thanks Mamarox for hosting such a fun swap!!
Cheers, Denise

You are The Lovers

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.

The Lovers represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.

Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that's actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Here are the earrrings that I had ever such a hard time with. Tension issues and stringing material issues and delica size issues!!!! It took days to do these!!!!! Hard to believe eh? Well, they are done and I'm not that fond of them because though they look good on a wine glass, they swing too much on the ear. They would be better off with the crystals at the bottom and a short thingy from the earring wire to the main crystal. They would look good as a pendent though.
These crystals are for my neice's wedding party. The crystal is heliotrope and is absolutely gorgeous. I love the crystals!!!
Cheers, Denise.
More later!!

Hi!!!! I'm Back!!!!

Hi! I've been away, been busy and having fun! I went to my sisters for a bit, and went camping and now I'm home for a bit before the long weekend and more camping! I will have some pictures for you very soon - I have completed my July page, started my August page and haven't thought about September!!
I have finished my doll and mailed it - I have pictures of it too! I was very happy to see it go!
More later! The house really does need attention!
cheers, Denise

Netting Pictures

My netting is crooked so I'm posting these progress pictures to see if the the wonderful folks at All About Beads will tell me if I should keep going or if I should cut it and rework it.
Cheers, Denise

What I have been doing and What I want to do!

Pictures of the BFAC project.





Sometimes you get to a point in the project where you just want to hurry up and finish so you can move on to the next thing. I'm at that with this project. I'm looking forward to the next part - working on the skirt of it (which you haven't seen yet) but I have to do the hair. Despite the generous contributions from a couple of other beaders, I still don't have enough white beads to finish the hair so I'm going to use the gold beads that I added to this BFAC project. My goal is to have this project finished before I go away on holiday. I'll mail it when I get back.

In other news, I'm looking forward to working on this project!


This is Nanabush. Nanabush is a mythical creature in Aboriginal legends. He has different names and creates messages, and mischief and sometimes angst for his people. I read about him first in a play written by a Canadian Playwright. The Play is called "The Rez Sisters" and the writer is Thompson Highway.
I bought this form when I was up at Bon Echo Provincial Park. I saw it a year ago and then this year I bought it with the intention of beading it. I don't know yet what will go on it - Nanabush often took different forms, including that of the crow. He is also known as the trickster but this particular form is from a picture that is painted on the rocks at Bon Echo - a petroglyph. They don't know how old it is and it's not very accessible. It's painted on a sheer rock face above the water and they have a telescope set up to see it at the park. I think this doll will ecompass lots of different elements, different types of beads and lots of texture. I made the face yesterday.





These are some of my most favourite beads! They are tiny little flowers and the local supplier for one of my local bead stores is discontinuing them. When I found that out, I had to buy up what I could afford! I love these beads, they are great in fringe, great used as a sequin type, can be used in as spacers in jewellery! They make great coral beads or neat moss. Nanabush will definitely have some!
So each bag is 600 each and hopefully they will last me for a bit.

Back to the fringe!!!!

Beading Projects

Hello! Hello!!
So, as you can see, I've been beading, not blogging!!!
The first two pictures are my July page, started but not finished. I'm having a lot of fun with it and have a few neat ideas to try out. The face was an experiment in netting and the netting is too big but I'm going to add some stuff to it and of course more beads!




I know most of you thought that the green flower picture was the June page but the leaves are too heavy and it bothered me because they ended up stretching the thread too much. I'm going to do something with that page, just not sure what yet.
In the mean time though, I've had in my minds eye for a very long time this beaders painting pallet and I really think it works for the first page of this journal. It was a lot of fun and I made the beads very bumpy and tactile, like a real pile of beads. I'm going to put a pocket on the back and add my journalling to it but I think it turned out great and the girls think it's cool too!


This is a progress picture on the Beading For a Cure doll that I am working on. It's going to take priority for the next little bit because it has to be finished to be mailed out by the end of the month. I'm really focusing on texture and layering and while parts of it I'm not happy with yet, I know that I still have lots to do and it will work itself out.
That's all for now!
Cheers, Denise

A Compliment

I want to thank everyone who has complimented me on my Through The Looking Glass Piece. I really had a lot of fun and drive to create that piece and it was really interesting to dig through my stash to find the beads that worked so amazingly well in it.

I was thinking of compliments and their importance in our lives. I was also looking at my list of blogs that I visit and the list of blogs that are on other people's blogs. I look for mine there. I don't see it that often but I was thinking that it would be a real compliment to see my blog on someone else favourite list. I was also remembering when an artist I knew re-formatted her list and took my name off her blog and the slight hurt I felt at that.
So in the next few days, I'm going to add to my list of blogs that I frequent and I'm going to update it with the blogs I go to. It's a good long list and it's a compliment to each of everyone that I look at your blogs.

If you have a blog, let me know, and if you would like to add my blog to your list, feel free... I'll accept it as a compliment.

Cheers, Denise

I Came In Second

It's called Through The Looking Glass.

There was a challenge on Bead Art and I didn't take up the challenge right away. Inspiration hit and I worked on this project non stop for oh, a month or so until it was finished. There are all kinds of woodland creatures, moss, trees, flying fish and pigs and a cheshire cat.
I loved how the mirror in the sky looks through the mirror of the water and that they both reflect back to each other all the weird and all the wonderful.
The back of the piece is the tunnel that Alice originally fell down and as she was falling, she saw all kinds of things so there is a rooster and a pig and of course shoes.

It was really fun to do. All most all of the beads I used were mine, I didn't have to go out and buy too many beads. I had fun using beads like the racoon and the squirrel and the elephant that had been sitting in my bead stash for the last few years.

Enjoy the pictures and congradulations to Jocelyn for winning. Here is the winning piece - The Red Queen Jocelyn did a fantastic job.

Cheers, Denise

Through the Looking Glass is the challenge I worked on. One of these pieces belongs to me and if you are a member of Delphi Forums, you can go to Bead Art and vote. The link for the voting doesn't seem to work - I didn't set it up so don't ask me how that all works.
Also, if the pictures don't load right away, either refresh or reload. There are some great pieces here, and it was an interesting challenge. We aren't supposed to say which piece we did, though one I do know who did three of them and then I know which one I did, so it's not top secret or anything like that!
The winner with the most votes recieves a wonderful package of beads curtsey of the moderators of Bead Art.
Now on to other projects!! I'll be posting soon! I'm working on a fringe - for a beaded art doll and the going in slow - it's easy but tedious work.
Cheers, Denise

Try your luck!

Contest!
Who doesn't like a contest!? Check this one out because it's very cool! I tripped over it on someone else's blog and I am more than happy to pass the link on! You know that it will have to do with beads! So go check out the marbles!

BJP Progress Report

Hello everyone!! Here is a picture of the 4x4 bjp page that I started and then abondoned. I'm glad I went with the 6x6 scheme, it allows me more room for doing a variety of things and as you can see in the next picture, I can use some great beads!!
I am beading on a quilt square - two layers of fabric with warm and natural batting in between. I hope to learn how to bind them very soon and in the mean time, I put together the 6x6 square as a pillow type flip. I like to bury my threads in the batting and leave the back empty of threads and stitches but I am going to be trying different techniques that also mean quilting the material as I go along. This adds an interesting dimension to the whole piece.


This is the start of my 6x6 June piece. It is a work in progress and I am actually finding it kinda boring. I didn't challenge myself at all but I love those huge green dagger beads and really wanted to use them. The blue beads in the center are lentils and they pile up on each other really nicely. I love the green beads for the stem - one of my favour beads!
I have other plans for this square, so I'm not going to dump it. Actually I want to incorporate journalling into this project and the plan is to put pockets for tags on the back. I'm going to sew the 4x4 patch that I made onto the back of this one to hold the journal tag. Then I'm going bead around it too.
I plan on adding some neat fringes etc to this piece. My hope for other pieces is to expand my fabric painting, stamping etc. I also plan on linking these together as a wall hanging - but I think I've mentioned that before.

In other news.... GO SENS GO!!!!!! Our cat Snow gets into the cheering with a little pompom action! The game was great and the Ottawa Sens Rock!!!!

Man!!! I should read my own blog!!!!!

Here I am fooling around on the computer and click on my own blog and read the current post and then the one before it where I mention the same things! I had completely forgotten that I had posted about the BJP or the secret project! Wow! I should really read what I have written and maybe, oh yes, just maybe keep a little better track of things here! Too funny!
Here is one more picture I wanted to add. Ottawa hosted a scrapbooking show yesterday and I had a chance to run in there. I was so very happy to get my hands on these dabbers - I could't previously get them here! Now the radiant rains I also picked up and found that my local store has just started to carry them. The stores here are a little slow to stock the new stuff. And with me being on the internet way too much, I hear about these neat product and want to try them out. So here I go!!!

A busy weekend

Hi all. I have an art room. I love it down there but I don't bead there. I have tried but I can bead for hours and then I've gotten myself away from the family too much. So here is the family room and my corner of the couch where I bead. I do a lot of work here and my family put up with it! Here is a good picture of Springer, who was so curious about what I was doing - but more because I was in the kitchen and he was hopeful!




In other news, I have cut the material for several of my Beaded Journal Project. I had tried a 4x4 variety, but that was really too small so I have upgraded to 6x6. These are some of the materials I want to work with, the first one being the lime green with the swirls. It's such a great spring colour!
The BJP is a new project started by Robin Atkins and I am so happy to be part of it! If you want to join, you need only visit Robin's blog, read the rules and sign up before the end of May.




These last two pictures are of a 4x4 page that I made for a monthly swap. I love doing mixed media and I rarely show what I have made on this blog - mostly because I just don't take pictures of it! So I thought I would, just to show you all a bit more of what I do.

One more thing. I am working a project that has been inspired by a topic over on Bead Art on Delphi Forums. It's called "Through the Looking Glass." I can't show you pictures because it is going to a vote but as soon as that is all done, I'll post pictures of it. It has been a fun and unique project that has enabled me to raid my stash of beads and use some of the more unique ones! I'm really happy with the way it has turned out - it is almost finished. Then I'll take pictures, enter it in the contest and when the contest is over, I'll post pictures.
Cheers, Denise

A Few Odd's and Ends

Hi All,
I am working on a secret project. I belong to Bead Art at Delphi forums and we are having a competition with "Through the Looking Glass" as the theme. Now the thing is, I got inspired to participate rather late in the day - or month and when I finally did have an "ahahaha" moment, I have had to scramble to create. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It is the reason why you haven't seen any art work though.

On another front, I have decided to join The 2007 Bead Journal Project that Robin Atkins has started. It will be fun, and inspiring and hopefully a real learning experience for me. Go to here blog if you want more information. Sign-ups go until the end of May.

Here are a couple of pictures from mothers day. We went to the Ottawa Tulip Festival - something we always do for mother's day. I love the tulip festival, it has such a great feel to it and yesterday was such a wonderful day weather wise!




Here is picture of me and my girls that Drew took yesterday. I'm the redhead. Claire is the one in the red sweatshirt but Emerald has her back to you - Haley with her arm up. The Asian lady isn't part of my family.
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Haley is also in the picture with her cow tulip.






Did you know that Parliment Hill in Ottawa has a cattery? It's a house for cats and these cats live outside all year long. Look how well taken care of they are! We have been up there in the winter time and these cats have the thickest coats! It's very cool, very old fashioned and kinda sweet - the kids love to visit the cats!

Also here is a picture of our beautiful provincial flower - the trillium! This was a wonderful little bike ride with the girls.



I'll keep you posted with some stitching I've been doing for a round robin and a few other art projects I'm involved in!

I just finished this book this morning. I belong to a bookclub that includes some pretty wonderful women and one of them picked this book months ago. For a variety of reasons we didn't all read it until now. We are going to discuss it this week and I have to say that I really didn't want to read it.
It's about World War One and goes into amazing detail around trench warfare and what the men faced during that war.
But it's so much more than that. I was at about page 52 when I told my friend that I just didn't want to read anymore. But I would read till page 100. If it wasn't for reading this book for bookclub, I would have stopped at page 52. I'm so glad that I didn't!!!
The characters are amazing and the progress of the story is fantastic. It is done in a way that is respectful and honest and compelling. I'm glad I was pushed to read the book and that is exactly what book clubs do. They introduce you to places in the world you don't expect to go and while sometimes it does feel uncomfortable, getting out of our comfort zones is so worth it!
So have a go at this book and if you feel that you can't, read to page 100 and let the story carry you to the end.
Cheers, Denise

Thanks Margaret!!!

I found it! Thanks so much to Margaret for pointing me in the right direction. Now we can wander around the blog via the labels!!! I will be sure to add labels to all of my work cause I do do a variety of things!!
Cheers, Denise

Thanks Margaret!!!

I found it! Thanks so much to Margaret for pointing me in the right direction. Now we can wander around the blog via the labels!!! I will be sure to add labels to all of my work cause I do do a variety of things!!
Cheers, Denise

Labels

Can anyone off the top of their head tell me how to create a labels section so that when a visitor wants to navigate around this blog, they can do that with labels? I think it is such a cool thing and I haven't found a place in the blog settings etc. where this can be done. I have poked around here a couple of times but haven't tripped over what I need to get it done!
So... if there is anyone reading this who can help me, feel free to do so!!!
Cheers, Denise

Hands to Work, Heart to God

This project has been around for a long while. It was in response to the hands to work, heart to God prayer that has been going on in my mind. It was present in my mind for a long time so I traced my hand and then beaded it. I must admit that there is another influence here.
Marya of Bead Art has created some wonderful artwork and has made hands in three dimensional form whereas mine is flat.
Celticat This is the link to her work. She is a great bead artist and has started to make glass beads too.
The Bead Art forum on Delphi is also a big influence in my bead art. I love the women there and their inspiration. They have taught me so much and I have had an incredible time learning this amazing art form!
Bead Art
So here is my latest finished project. I do believe that I may have started this almost two years ago but hey, who's counting!?
Cheers, Denise

Hi All,
The exams are done, the house is clean and I've done something I've been wanting to do - no not that - I've done that already!!!
No, what I wanted to do was try felting! So I did! After my last exam on Thursday last week, I went to the art store, and Ikea and the wool shop. I had a blast poking around and looking at all the fun ways I can play!
I picked up a blue wool and used the roving I already had and played with it. Here are the pictures of my endeavors. If I ever



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Some of the pictures are double - sorry about that.
It all shows how I knitted the piece, washed it and felted it, then cut out a star - which was supposed be more flower looking. Then I got the needles out and started poking away.
Interesting thing about the needles. I could have bought a gadget that the a different type of needle sits in. I think there are six needles in the holder. This gadget was about 25.00. Instead I picked up these needles that were four 7bucks. You can use more than one at a time or just use the one for specific work - more details. I like the idea of the needles - cheaper and easy to use.
I only poked my finger once and man they are sharp!
So I'm working on a few other things which I'll show you real soon! And I teach beading in the next few weeks if the class goes!
Oh! And I planted Pansies!!!!!!
Cheers, All!