Bead Stacks in Need of Viagra!

OK...so I've learned my lesson...no matter what I want to do, sometimes it's better to wait just a bit! I was so excited when I started this month that I plopped down those tall stacks w/o thinking! So now, after weeks of working around them, they're all flopping over! See?

So, after I get all done, I'll go back & reinforce them so they can stand tall & erect again! :)


The next thing that happened was that I ran out of black seed beads! I have a "starry night" sky to finish here! Come on! So I took out my Delicas & started to outline all the "fireworks" with them. Tedious tiny little things! Then my pal, Azlina, sent me some black beads from Malaysia! So now I can work on filling in the background with bigger beads. See? The beads on the right are the Delicas & the ones on the left are from Azlina. Now, if that's not enough, well, then there's always the Ben Franklin craft sale tomorrow!!

So this is where I'm at this evening! Once the background is in, I'll put on a SIMPLE border & be done!

My pal sent me a card once that said, "You are a human sparkler!" It's how I've always felt inside! But sometimes I need to calm down. So I think you'll be seeing some ROCKS next month! Time for grounding!!!

Comfort Dolls & Bead it Forward

Hi all!
To the left I've added an element called Projects I'm Involved With. There you will find a project called Comfort Dolls. I have a personal interest in wanting to help this cause. It's just getting started, but there is no timeline. The link on the left tells about the project, but you can get to the updated info here. There's not alot of ways that I can give, but this is one way. Join in if you can.
You'll also see I added the info for Bead it Forward. This one is for you beaders out there. Check it out if you'd like to help!
Happy creating!
With aloha, CC

Just one other thing I learned

On our Yahoo group we were asked what we learned that week about our BJP piece. Well, I could write a book on this piece! Fabric choice, the weight of beads on a larger piece when encrusted, how impossible it is to know what colors you'll want/need when you are working improvisationally, harder to see dark colors as we age, do stacks last if possible so the thread doesn't get tangled in them, keep your needlenose handy for tight spots....ETCETERA! :) Whew. And it also comes in handy to also be doing something that you are familiar with, & has rules, so you don't feel like you are a totally lousy artist! Gotta remember this isn't about the rules...just gut & heart. So I finally just gave in & said, "I don't care! I'll put this here just 'cuz I like it! Who cares about the rules?" Ignoring that inner art critic, especially an Italian/Norwegian one, can be a tad difficult!

That said, here is my progress for the week:

This is head on

This is from an angle to hopefully see the height

One other thing I learned is that it gets heavy holding larger pieces, so next month will be a smaller size! Hopefully that will help some!

And...thank you Azlina for those black beads in the mail! How did you know I'd need them? ;)

TAG! I'm It!

OMG! I had no idea this would happen! I've been tagged & have been kindly coerced into answering some questions about ME! HA! Sue tagged Freebird, now I get to tag someone else. Hmmmm, wonder who I should torture? I mean tag! :)
So here are the questions & answers:

Five things to do before I die: (Who said I was gonna die????)
1. Own a studio separate from my home
2. Own my own home again
3. Make a great living from my art
4. See the Grand Canyon with dh & take road trips...living on an island makes you crave open road
5. Love my family & friends & create every day...those are the only 2 rules for my life

Five things I can do:
1. Create!
2. Love!
3. Have incredible sex with dh!
4. Listen to Jimmy Buffett all day every day!
5. Eat wonderful meals that my dh makes for me!!! :)

Five things I cannot do yet:
1. Overcome spastic colitis w/o meds
2. Eat ice cream
3. Eat lettuce
4. Control my astral projection
5. Have all my spiritual/psychic questions answered

Five things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. Sense of humor
2. Very attentive to my needs sexually! ;)
3. Shows love in action
4. Is creative
5. Gives "kitchen kisses" & goosebumps! HA! :)

Five celebrity crushes: (I really don't have crushes, but I kinda like these guys!)
1. Wangari Maathai (I really like her!!!)
2. John Travolta (Smells like cookies!)
3. Susan Sarandon (Road trip with politics!)
4. Bono (Along with Oprah for good deeds)
5. Jimmy Buffett! ;) (It's 5 o'clock somewhere!)

Five people I would like to do this:
1. Jesus, Zoraster, Buddha, Ghandi, Aphrodite, Minerva, Socrates, Jung, Einstein...all religious, science & philosophical leaders!!!
2. All former & present leaders of the world
3. Jimmy Buffett! Ha! You knew it, didn't you? ;)
4. Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, DaVinci, Picasso, Frida, O'Keeffe, Gorg, & all great artists past & present
5. All my relatives who've transitioned to the next life!

If any of you have been tagged for this one already, just pass it on.

Teacher Mai-Liis Retires Class

Aloha, all!

I just found out that the woman who taught me the wrapped art doll class at Joggles is retiring this class. So if there is anyone who wants to learn how to make one like mine, or like this one she is now teaching, you can contact her at her website. http://mai-liispeacocknotes.blogspot.com/ I really enjoyed the online class & found it easy to do. This is her mermaid theme wrapped doll. And once you have the basics, you can go crazy with your own personal doll...like I did! :) Thank you , Mai-Liis, for your patience as a teacher.

Manic CC and VanGogh!

OMG! What a week! I was gonna post tomorrow but have to be in town.

I always knew (in theory) that color & pattern affect your mood...but I had never REALLY had a major experience with it until this week! I was beading along on my July piece when I started feeling really nervous! What? I kept going. But I knew something was wrong. I just felt too weird! I looked at the fabric I was using & thought that it looked like a painting by VanGogh! I was beading on what looked like a painting by VanGogh! No wonder I felt so bizarre! So I stopped. My pal in Malaysia had sent me a PPS on VanGogh, so I went to my computer & watched it. Sure enough there were those short, varied, colorful strokes! Aack! What to do? I thought, "Is this what he felt like?" OK, back to beading. I decided I had to calm myself & the fabric down. Horizontal lines! Yes! That will help....me anyway! So that's what I did. I immediately felt better! Amazing! So the rest of the week, I felt comfortable with the fabric. I didn't have to follow those lines & colors. Whew! So, in the mail comes some sequins from that same pal in Malaysia! I decided I'd just honor that old painter & put some stars in the sky. July, after all, is full of starry nights! Here's the progression:

Panic sets in!

Getting calm!

Much better...at least I am! Especially on starry nights!

Art Journal Swap

So an art pal & I decided we'd do a journal swap. Easy to say on an island! Ha! Just try to find a spiral bound watercolor journal! The pal beats me to the one craft store on the island & buys out the store! So by the time I get to it, there are only 8X10 watercolor pads. I buy them out (sorry whoever comes next!) & bring them home to make my own journal. The store is out of binder rings also, so I have to use 2 giant rings from tag swaps I've been in previously! I use the board the pads came on to make the covers. Covered them in fancy green & lavender paper. Then I punched holes in all & decorated the front. I also made a book thong for it. So this is how it will stay until I can get some smaller rings...or maybe I'll find some pretty ribbon! :)

Inside pages with book thong and one of the fabric beads I made as well as JOY beads

Completed art journal

Up close the crown says CREATE, & the fabric beads I made have CC beads added to them!

Now on to the first entry...we swap on Wednesday!!! Aack! ;)

Cliche, but can't resist

OK...so it seems cliche, but I couldn't resist! My shape for July is a flag. The material reminded me of fireworks. The paua shell reminded me of trips to the beach where we USED to find abalone & other shells. Then, the beading, well, it's kinda starting to look like seaweed! Now that's a mainland kind of thing, so I guess I'll have to add some of the tropics later...that is, if my insides go that way. Ya never know!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Had to post today 'cuz was gone all day shopping yesterday. Our island is so small, but only has a 2 lane highway. So it takes FOREVER to get it all done! Tried to find a spiral bound watercolor journal for a round robin, but I'm gonna end up having to make one! Ah...life on an island!

Here's the pics of the progress on this month's BJP!

Deciding on materials, shape, & colors

Starting to bead around the paua shell

Where I am as of this week...ways to go yet!