Blue Marble Update

So, if you read my earlier post, I decided to do my BJP for April on Mother Earth. I am doing this one improvisationally, but before each time I start work on it, I read a prayer from "Earth Prayers" (From around the World, 365 Prayers, Poems, & Invocations for Honoring the Earth). I started with the section on "Healing the Whole". Then I look at my picture of Nasa's Blue Marble & pray & meditate as I work. One thing I noticed is that at first it started out looking very regal. I thought maybe if we thought about the Earth as being a Queen, we wouldn't treat her as we do. From there I started to have different words pop into my head, so I wrote them down to use with this piece when it's mounted. I am trying to get this done by the end of the month as we only have one more month left to go on this BJP! A whole year is almost gone! So here's a couple pics:

Still having to work at getting true colors with my digital camera & lighting set up. It's hard to tell that's a heart charm in the center. Ah, well! But I've got the 4 directions & the 4 elements in there. I have no clue where I'm going from here!

Tin Goddesses

Speaking of goddesses, I've been working on some for my etsy shop, but still haven't decided on a name for them. I've also found it really different to be beading on felt after this last year of beading on Timtex! Wow! It's so soft, but also floppy! It's a good thing I used an air dry lightweight clay to make the face cab! There's no way it would've held up a polymer cab! So here's a couple pics:

In the first picture, you can see part of one of the stacks of tins my pals have been saving for me. Plus I've been using them to hold the patterns, the project dolls & some embellishment beads, charms & sequins. I can take just a couple tins on the road with me to work on! OOOoooo, and I just bought the softest 100% cotton stuffing! Can't wait to try it on these & my hearts!

Kuan Yin & Capt. Cook

Had some pals ask me to take some pics of certain places here on Kaua'i. Thought I'd share some of them with you. One batch is of a Buddhist Temple & a statue of Kuan Yin (also spelled Kwan Yin), the goddess of compassion. I discovered some other smaller statues behind the large statue. There is a large Buddhist population here. I feel good every time I pass her statue. The 2nd batch is of a statue of Capt. Cook & a monument that was erected in his honor. There's alot of stories here about him!

Batch One:

Batch Two:

Good Old Sampler

This is my good old rubber sheeting sampler. When I want to try out a new stitch before working on a project, I try it out here...all helter skelter, but it works. I've even made up some of my own on here! And I've used things I've found lying around...on one of our walks, I found that little red plastic heart...just for me!

March BJP and The Blue Marble!

Well, no one guessed what April's form was gonna be, so I'll tell you! It's The Blue Marble pic that NASA took that you can see here. I decided for April, there's really no special holiday, but there is EARTH DAY!!! So what I'm going to do is start beading on my already painted "blue marble", but not be realistic about it. I'm going to meditate as I bead, & pray for our planet as I work. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it! And me!

But for March...I'm DONE! Woo hoo! There were a HECK of alot of beads on this one! I wanted to give it the feel of looking into one of those fancy eggs that have scenes inside them. And I wanted to honor the changing of the season from the snowy winter with it's bare branches, into the colorful freshness of spring flowers. Here's a couple views:

And for those of you who think all I do is bead...read below! :)

Tin Goddesses?

OK...here's a new project I'm working on for my shop. I looked online & in books for different goddess shapes & sketched some out & made patterns. I've had pals saving me their Altoid tins instead of tossing them. I want to make little goddesses to go in their tin shrines. I'm just not sure what to call them! Anyway, it was a really interesting thing to study...these ancient forms. There is even an ancient pecked owl goddess in France! So I included a silhouette of it. Maybe you can pick it out in the picture. I also made some forms/patterns of my own! I have some molded, painted faces, felt, beads, charms, etc. for each of these beauties & their shrines. Should be fun...any help with a name would be appreciated! ;)

What Have I Been Up TO???

Alot of people tend to ask that...I guess 'cuz I spend alot of time in the studio & not alot of time showing what I'm doing! Well, dang! I'm just having fun! So here's some things I've been up to:

Some journal swap pages:

Some stuffed hearts that will curl all up after I wash them...will show ya later when I'm done:

Some art jounalling:

And fulfilling orders for our little business...this is a basket of handmade paper bookmarks we still have to tag & get to the museum. You can't tell here, but each bookmark has a stamped Hawaiian image on it. Maybe I'll get a chance to show some another time. So here's those:

And that, my friends, is part of what I've been up to! :)

AAaaargh!!!

OK...so my husband was a pirate in another life! Here he is with some of his birthday bootie! I think he's trying to speak Piratese! Happy Birthday honey! Argh!

April Question

OK...so I've decided on my form for April's BJP. And I've cut it out and painted it. I didn't have the color fabric paint I wanted, but this will work. Can you guess what it's gonna be?

Coming to the Finish Line

Well, I'm almost finished with my March BJP piece! Yes! Here's a few pics of my progress so far:

Wanted to include a close up & a side view. I'm hoping when I edge this piece, it will give the appearance of looking into one of those fancy eggs with scenes inside of them! And yes, I know it's April already!

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!

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 green...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!

In the Pink! And Happy Leap Year Day!

If this wasn't leap year, I'm not sure I could've started February's BJP in February! Whew!
So since I was so far behind on January, I decided to make February a little smaller! Duh! ;) In these pics you can see I've painted the Timtex, decided on the focal charm, & checked to see if I have enough of the certain color heart sequins that a special friend here gave to me! I'm feeling really frilly about this one...kinda like those paper hearts you can use under food. So we'll see what happens!
Here's a peak at February:

January BJP finally emerges!

Well, it's been catch up time, but my January BJP is completed...well the focal piece anyway. Gotta remember these are all going to be put on boards! So here's a few views:

Pay it Forward

There is a blogger Pay It Forward going on, & since I love the concept, I decided to join in. The idea is this: As part of the PIF venture, I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment here on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. I am not sure what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! That is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is to pay it forward by making this same promise on your blog.
I really love that this supports the random acts of kindness philosophy, & gives a boost to handmade, all in one. I saw this awhile ago on someone's blog, but forgot who it was! Then I saw it again on a fellow BJP blog, KV, which you can check out here.
I also want to tell you about another person who is so generous! I buy some of my face molds from The Enchanted Gallery. You can check it out here.
Kimberly, of The Enchanted Gallery, has some beautiful stock photos online that she lets us folks use. That is how I got the background for the picture at the top of this post. I just added the text. I will keep this graphic on my blog under projects I'm involved in...just as a reminder to myself to give back, since I've been given so much.
I'm looking forward to see who the first 3 people will be to comment! I will have to be able to contact you to get your gift to you, but we'll deal with that once you comment!
So, on your marks, get set, go!

January BJP

Well, I sure have learned alot about painting with beads!!! Using watercolors, acrylics, etc., I had no clue how many beads you'd need to get the shading, tints, colors and texture that I'd want as a painter! I just don't have the money to buy every single bead there is, & by gosh, ya just can't mix 'em like paint! So, what to do...I guess become an impressionist, abstract artist, something! Anyway, here's my work tray:

Not sure if it shows my limited palette & size of beads, but I'm learning to make do!!! After all, this is just my "feeling" of emerging from a cocoon into the new year, so it doesn't have to be realistic!
Here's a couple of close ups to give you a better idea:

Hopefully I'll be done with January soon so I can finish February before it's over. That is one benefit of not feeling well! I have a wonderful, relaxing project to do while I'm getting well on the couch! :)