Friday, March 21, 2008

Hearts of Hope



I've just been having so much fun with felt & beads! I love the simplicity of working with such fun materials. I made a pin I'm going to add to my etsy shop. I'd like to do a series of these. This one is a Heart of Hope for Health! I decided to show the front & back. It's nice to see it all finished! And hope it blesses someone on their journey to health!

BJP Catch Up!

Well, I'm hoping I can catch up this month on my BJP piece. I got the image transferred finally! My transfer paper wasn't working on the Timtex. I found I REALLY had to press hard on it. You can see some dark marks where I actually came thru' the paper & transfer sheet!
Now I'm learning another lesson. I had been doing improvisational beading. This is my first planned design. What I'm finding is that I need ALOT of different size beads to pull this off really well! And colors! More shades! But it's still fun & a good learning process! I have no idea where I'm going for April...will just be glad to be caught up!!!

Gift for a Pal

There's a special amulet pouch I make for very special people. I first received one from a Native American woman in Washington State. Since then I've made up my own designs, & make each one specifically for the person who is to be gifted. It's really time consuming, but they turn out to be very attractive. I've had to remake mine several times over the years just from wear. Yet every time I wear it, people look at it instead of me! One guy told me "there's alot of mojo goin' on there"!

This one was for a pal who loves the ocean but also the forest. She can keep something special in it. I gave her a piece broken from one of my crystals so she'll always have a memory of me in it. I also tried to make the top a little more ruffly than usual to give the impression of waves. The colors & embellishments were chosen just for her. And she liked it! Have a peek:


Bead it Forward

Just a note to say that my little square made it up to Alaska for the Bead it Forward project. And you can see it here. Check out some of the other pages! There's some very interesting takes on the rose!
Hopefully will post more later!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Bead It Forward

I'm not sure if you noticed over on the left of my blog that I'm supporting the Bead it Forward project.
Each of us make a 1.5 X 1.5 " piece of beadwork that will be added to a beaded quilt. (Some of us have more time & can make more pieces.) The quilt is put together & auctioned off to help support breast cancer awareness. Here is my
piece I'll be sending up to Alaska:


If you want to see some of the other pieces you can take a look here!
There are already a dozen pages! I hope mine gets there in time!
Have a great weekend all!

March Start!

Off and running with March! Whew!
I had decided that my shape this month would be a pot of gold...BUT, I changed my mind. I decided to do an egg shape in honor of Oestara, Spring Equinox. I know alot of people believe that Easter, a Christian festival, is about resurrection. Well, pre-dating Christians, there were many that celebrated the vernal equinox & the tradition of celebrating the return of the sunlight of spring. I did a little research & found out so much! But it's all about the triumph of Light over Darkness! Yes!
Some believe that Oestara is the spring Equinox and the festival of Ostara/Eostra the Norse Goddess of Fertility and Spring. Being 1/2 Norwegian, I decided it was time to celebrate that part of my past! I discovered that this is the time
for rituals of fertility of all kinds. A time to start new projects. Yes!
The colors of Oestra are yellow & fresh spring g
reen...the colors of daffodils & spring growth. So I drew my egg, sketched in some daffodils, left a bit of dirt at the bottom & some bare branches at the top to remind us of the dark winter we've just come out of...even here in Hawaii! (Yes, we have winter!) And I'll probably edge it in white to represent snow, freshness & purity.
This is a first for me in this BJP project. All of my pieces have been improvisational. I decided this one would have more than a subconscious meaning to it. So here's the project so far:


Now here's my problem...when I try to transfer a drawing /sketch to Timtex, using transfer paper, it doesn't seem to turn out well. I'm not sure if it's the humidity here, or something else. Do any of you have any ideas/hints on how you transfer your drawings to material like Timtex? I'd appreciate any insight! Thanks & happy spring!

Catching Up!

Yes! February's BJP is done! I made it a little simpler so I would be able to catch up, but it will still go on it's own board with text & danglies! Here's a couple pics:


I really felt just sweet & frilly doing this one!