A Sneak Preview

OK...so here's a sneak preview of some things I've been moodling on...you'll see them, & more, finished, maybe after the first of the year! :)

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

November's BJP Progress In Spite of No Nails!!!

OK...even tho' I had no fingernails, & had to use my tweezer thingy, I did make some progress. Here I first added a row of black all around with long bugles around her head. As I added more colors, she kinda started to remind me of Guadalupe, or a goddess...the more I worked on her, the more she seemed to shine!

There's just a little problem...my goddess has a big old hole in her head! Not sure what I'm gonna do about it, but have some ideas brewing.

So here's a couple of pics of her so far.

In spite of the nail issue, I am really loving her!

Suspense Movies

Does anyone know what this is?

Well, I got it years ago when I was doing off-loom beading & stringing alot. It's some kind of bead tweezer grabber thingy. But this week it's called "Fingernails"! Why? Well, DH & I watched a suspenseful movie he hadn't seen before. And I really don't like to watch them, but did. And, you guessed it, I bit ALL my fingernails off! Try picking up a needle or a bead without fingernails!!!

Luckily I do grow nails back quickly, but progress was a little slow this week on some projects!

November BJP...a week later!

Happy Aloha Friday everyone!

Lots of stuff going on with family & friends, so haven't had time to post in 2 weeks! Yikes! And then there's the making of Christmas presents. And then, my camera decided it wanted to go back to 8-2006! Go figure! Mercury is 'sposed to be out of retrograde by now! Ha! ;)
So, here's where I'm at. I decided to go with a symbol of the turkey's tail feathers...Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie, spices & all that. So I made a template & cut it out.

Then decided I didn't want to try to adhere fabric to all those round edges, so I painted the Timtex an orangeish gold color.

Then I needed to decide on a focal bead. I had this beautiful Native American Woman porcelain piece by Laura Mears...should I use it? Ya know how you hoard those things you love? And you don't want to let them go? Wonder why that is? Anyway, I put her on the Timtex & she fit just right!

So now I'm just deciding on the colors & beads I'd like to use with her...here's some I'm trying...

I sure wish I could show more of the other things I'm doing now, but can't let anyone see what the elves are working on! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! And Happy Veteran's Day to all you vets...that includes you, DH! :)

October BJP done!

Yea! I'm ahead this month! Woo hoo! Got the BJP done for October. First I put a border of milky white beads around the edge.

Then I asked DH his opinion...we agreed it need something else...so I tried another row using beads & Swarovski crystals.

I liked it so finished it that way! And here it is:

That's all for this week...can't show anything else 'cuz I've been busy with Christmas gifts! And I wouldn't want to give away any hints! :)

Happy weekend, & Happy Halloween to those of you who Trick or Treat!

With aloha,
CC

P.S. Ooops...looks like I uploaded that first image HUGE! And I have no idea how to delete it & replace it. Can't find a "cut" option! Oh, well! :)
P.P.S. Thanks Robin for teaching me how to fix the picture!!! :)

Improv Unleashed!

Wow! I have no idea where I'm going, but it sure is fun!
After getting some wonderful advice, I let go. Decided, after all, it's just a piece of beadwork! (Thanks Robin & everyone!) I remember from art school being told "It's just paper!" This was the same connection I needed to make! So I started to walk from the kitchen toward my studio & happened upon 5 pieces of plain beach glass that were sitting on the ledge. Hmmm...guess I hadn't put them in the container. So I grabbed them & brought them with me. I had been thinking of the elements, Samhain, magick...well, I just stuck 'em down & went at it. Then it just felt right adding the big bead I got years ago...and lines just swirled from there! I really don't know what will happen next, but it's really alot more fun when you can let go! Yea!!!
Hope you all have a fun weekend! See you next Friday! Aloha!

Christmas Ornaments

So this year we're making some new ornaments for Huckleberry Hut. We take the bark from the Black Wattle tree, an invasive pest here, cut strips & form them into shapes. We let them dry. Meanwhile we gather the beach glass we've collected & do some wire wrapping around them. Add a colorful Christmas ribbon & you have an earth friendly ornament! Gosh! How many days to Christmas? Ack!

Finished Knotless Netting Amulet Pouch

So, just in time, I finished the amulet pouch for my pal visiting me from the mainland. Here's a pic of the finished pouch.

I didn't get alot of time to visit with her, but what time I had was a joy!

Stuck, Stumped & Stupefied!

OK...so I started out LOVING this month's BJP piece! I had my beautiful face cab & my base all RTG!!! I knew I'd have to use freeform peyote around the cab 'cuz it was really uneven. Got that done. Then I added the special sign. Finally added the border of gold. NOW WHAT??? I did the poem & wrote all the words for October, but I don't know where to go from here. Here's a pic of the beginning of the week:

And here's one after the border was added:

Now I don't know what to do! I know I want the owl feather hanging from it on the final board, but I'm just not getting any leading to a bead, charm, embellishment....nothing. So I think I'll take a break over the weekend & start anew on Monday! Going to the Pow Wow tomorrow...maybe I'll get some inspiration there!

Just an FYI, here's where I got the face cab mold! http://www.theenchantedgallery.com/ I just love her molds!!!

Knotless Netting & Finishing Minerva

Needlelace, knotless netting, buttonhole stitch...it's something that seems to be used the world over. And I love how many different ways it's used. I use it to make pouches. Here's one I've worked on this week:

I've made a 4 thread braided neck strap for it & just have to finish adding some embellishments.

I also finished my Minerva top. Now I just need to find out where to get some ultra suede! We just don't have everything here in the middle of the Pacific ocean! Here's a pic:

Swaps Galore

OK...so some other things I've been involved in are swaps. All kinds of different swaps. Here's just a few that I've recently finished, or am almost finished.
First, my pal Jo and I, just finished an almost 2 year journal swap...hey, we like to take our time! :)
Here's a pic of my finished journal:

Then I did an ATC swap with my pal Azlina in Malaysia. Her country's flower is the hibiscus, & it's our state flower. It's the first time I beaded on a preprinted fabric instead of one of my own photos:

And 3 of us are just finishing up a Bendi doll swap! This is what they looked like when they started awhile back. I wonder what they'll look like when they're all done?! Mine is the middle one. I tinted her using bogolan fini...a mud cloth technique from Africa.

Harvest Moon

So...I decided I REALLY wanted to do a witch's hat for this month...got all my sketches done...BUT...when I went to add the face cab I'd made, it was all too big for the hat & the boards I will be putting all of these on! DANG~! So, I decided to make a harvest moon for the symbol of the month. OK, so it didn't take alot of art expertise, but I have a feeling I'm gonna like this one.
Here's a pic of the painted circle, the face cab & some other items I may use.

She's gonna be kinda heavy to work with, but I do want to put her on first & add the rest later.

School's started and I'm DONE!!!

Yahoo! I was a little worried about this piece! There are so many memories for me that have to do with September. Including my parents' birthdays, 9-11, school starting, quitting smoking, etc. Being a WYSIWYG, I wear my heart on my sleeve & am direct in what I say & do. So it was hard to work improvisationally on this piece. But once all my BJP helpers let me know it was OK, I started to play with the piece. And now it's done! Whew! Here's a pic:

Like I said, no hidden agendas with me! :)

Also, every month I've been collecting/making little danglies that will go on these pieces once they are mounted on boards. Here's a pic of some of the shells, milagros, old earrings, etc that may find their way onto a particular piece:

I really enjoyed making that snowflake! I've done off-loom beading alot more than beaded embroidery, so it was fun to find the instructions for this & take a break & make one! Woo hoo!

Minerva Update

There's so many things I'm working on that I can't post 'cuz they are for specific people who read this blog!!! But once they receive their items, then I'll post them. In the meantime, I'll post what I can. So here is how far I've come with my Minerva piece:

Not alot, but I've learned something thru' doing this piece. I really enjoy creating pieces that have meaning to me. Especially a spiritual meaning. And this one is so calming to do...it's like a meditation. It's not big, but it has a big lesson. I think I'll be doing more of this kind of work, whether it's beaded or watercolor!

Minerva

This is a personal piece I'm working on for my home altar. Minerva is the Italian goddess of arts & crafts. There's so much evidence of her in Italy...Christian churches on top of her temples...I just felt like I wanted to remember her. And her helper, the owl...which is our family "totem". (It's called something else in Italian, but figured everyone might understand "totem" better.) There's more to her story & mine, but that's all I'm gonna blog about it! :) Except to say sorry for the hard to see pics, but it's been a busy week!

Playing with September

OK...so after all the helpful encouragement, I threw out the rules & just decided to do whatever the heck I wanted! So I played! And it's funny the bits that showed up to go on this month's BJP piece! I didn't even remember that school ephemera! Who knew? So I'm just gonna play all the way until it's done! Here's a pic of it so far:

I know I only have a week left, so I better hop to it! Oh, & in case you can't find it in the comments, freebird, I did the rainbow colors around the word "Dream" 'cuz when I went to grammar school, every year I'd get a big box of crayons every color of the rainbow. I loved 'em! Also, this is the time of year people start getting ready for the pow wow here, so I used beads I got from the pow wow in the rainbow. I'm really not sure what's happening with this one, but I'm just gonna play with it!

Is it a journal? Is it a sketchbook?

Hi, all & happy Aloha Friday!
This post is specially for freebird. She commented about journals/sketchbooks, so I thought I'd share my stuff. It's not all neat like it shows in the previous post! :)

Here's a sampling of what I do. That big black "book" (lower left) contains my "morning pages"...the hour I spend getting rid of the "mitote" as suggested in "The Artist's Way". It's just a bunch of words. I go thru' about one every 3 or 4 months. The smaller black moleskin (upper right) is my watercolor sketchbook...the one I showed a couple sketches from in the previous post. Just mostly daily play sketches. The leather journal (lower right) is my life events journal. I paint/journal from the big events in my life in there. But the one I love the most is my "idea" book. It's the small green sketch book (upper left) that I carry with me everywhere! If I get an idea, it goes in there. If I get an address, phone number, receipt, whatever, it goes in there. If I ever get stuck, I go to these books!!! I have 'em lined up on my table & I just browse thru' all the ideas I've saved over the years. It's so nice! I even put a little sketch of a lightbulb by the idea so I can pick it out from the rest of the stuff! :) It's my most messy, loved "book" in the world! It's like that story about the Velveteen Rabbit! So, freebird, I bet your sketchbook is a Velveteen Rabbit that's loved alot!

Technical Difficulties

This was a week of technical difficulties! Especially on my September BJP piece! After I learned my lesson with markers, I painted another base to start over.

Then I decided to learn from my new "Beading with Cabachons" book. It seemed to work ok, but kinda felt loose to me. So I ended up going thru' each row alot of times!

Then September 11th came and I had to do something. So I added 2 large beads to represent the Twin Towers. But I wanted all the families to be covered in healing blue energy. So I tried to do some netting over it. A new stitch and ALOT of do-overs & pulling out beads & threads.

After this, I was getting nervous. I'm really new to this improvisational thing, but having so many mistakes on one piece was frustrating me. So I decided to get out some big size 6 beads & make a path thru' it all. That was after I did one of those poems Robin talks about in her book! That seems to help me go on to the next step. So here's where I'm at now.

I'm really hoping this turns out ok...especially after this rough start. One day at a time we all move on!
With aloha!

Remember September

So it was September again. This year I read about the Remember September mail art project & at the last minute decided to send one in. I sketched the NY skyline on red mulberry paper & tore out the outline of the Twin Towers. I remember being there years ago. I added some words to the families & friends who lost someone, and here it is ready to be mailed on 9/11.

You can read about the project here if you'd like to have a go at this next year.

Creative Decisions

Well, it's been an interesting week to say the least! In the midst of working on some other projects, I came across an old sketchbook that got me interested in doing some figurative art again. Here's a few sketches after Gorg:

BUT...I've also been doing some fun watercolor & ink journalling! Here's a couple of those:

The thing is I like doing it all! Including all the mixed media art I do! I sometimes just wish I could stick with one thing so my studio wouldn't be so crowded! But whether it's fabric, paper, or beads, I want to be able to do it all! Is anyone else like this? :) And then there's all the crafts I make for Huckleberry Hut, and all the jewelry....and....Ack!!! My head is so full it feels like it's gonna burst! But at least it's full of JOY!

Huckleberry Hut

OK...this is MY art blog, but I'd be remiss if I didn't introduce my DH & our little cottage business. His name is Ron, & our business is called Huckleberry Hut. We celebrate arts & crafts~if it ain't fun, we don't do it! We make everything from baskets using invasive species, to handmade paper using recycled & natural materials, to greeting cards using that handmade paper to traditional crafts, to ornaments, to jewelry to...well, whatever we want! So here's a little pic of Ron with some of the baskets he made awhile back. Hi, honey!

Now, back to MY art! Which is a whole other thing! :)

Mango Season!

I wish you all could see the beautiful colors of all the mangoes now! Here's a shot of a few, but you really have to see them in person!

The colors seem to be all the colors of the rainbow! Yellow to violet! Beautiful! Now if I only didn't get "mango mouth" I could eat them! Ha!

Starting Over

OK...I learn by doing. I've practiced using markers on small pieces of Timtex so I'll be ready for the Bead it Forward project. So I decided to do my September page the same way. Well, I thought that if one coat was good for a tiny piece, 3 or 4 coats would be better for a larger piece. So on I went adding all the coats...forgetting to leave a border...and the results were this!

So I decided to wait 24 hours to see if it would dry. Guess what? It didn't!

It looks like next week I'll be starting over...this time I'll use paint or fabric!!! How many lessons are we all learning in this project??? ;)

Scattergories

OK...my pal Jo, had a challenge on her blog, & if anyone tried this, & sent her the link, you could win a piece of her art! So I plan to win! :) Of course our names are in a hat, but I'm sure I'll do fine at getting picked! :D

SCATTERGORIES ... and it's harder than it looks! Here are the rules:
* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
*They MUST be real places, names, things ... NOTHING made up!
*If you can't think of anything, skip it.
*You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
*If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!
My name: CC
1. Famous Singer/Band: Cher
2. Four letter word: Crap
3. Street: Cane Crop Road
4. Color: Cranberry (prismacolor pencils say so!)
5. Gifts/Presents: Candy
6. Vehicle: Chevy
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Crafts
8. Boy Name: Christopher
9. Girl Name: Caren
10. Movie Title: Canadian Bacon
11. Drink: Chardonnay
12. Occupation: Carpenter
13. Celebrity: Charlie Sheen
14. Magazine: Computer World
15. U.S. City: Chicago
16. Pro Sports Teams: Cleveland Browns
17. Fruit: Cherry
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Cat ate my homework!
19. Something You Throw Away: Cans
20. Things You Shout: Ciao!
21. Cartoon Character: Clifford the Big Red Dog
There you go, Jo! Put my name in the hat!!! ;)