Cup of Bead Soup

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things http://www.lorianderson.blogspot.com/ (sorry, I still don't know how to do the fancy insert here, although I have been shown - sigh) has posted the finished necklace made with my beads.  It is an absolute stunner, and Lori has really done a super job!
Let's see if I can "beg, borrow or steal" a picture of the necklace.

Hop over to her blog to get all the details.  You can also check out an earlier post of hers that shows the necklace she made with the other set of "Ocean beads" I sent her.

Old Theme - New Design

I have been playing around with a new design for an old theme lately.  I made one of these "Under The Boardwalk" focal beads a few weeks ago, and a friend snapped it up right away - so I figured I had better get a few more made.

I am really pleased with how they have turned out. These are quite large, and are freeform crunch style beads. The shell-like core, the bubbles of the "seeded" glass giving it a watery look, the ocean waves, and the small ocean wildlife, all made to represent what you would find "Under The Boardwalk".   These two beads will be going into my Etsy shop sometime today.

Now that you have that song in your head for the rest of the day, you will probably be cursing me - lol!

New Blog on the Block

Check out this new blog http://wendysbeadsofjoy.blogspot.com/.
My friend Wendy from Beads of Joy has her own blog now.  Wendy makes the most colourful and happy beads I have ever seen - I love them!  Hopefully she will be posting lots of pictures in the future - hint, hint, Wendy.  She lives about 45 minutes from me here on Vancouver Island, and is a member of our glass group called Island Fireflies.

Hope you all have a very happy day!

LADYBUGS - A sure sign of Spring!

Many thanks to Melanie Moertel for teaching us how to make these cute little bugs last June!  I am having a blast making them - they give me hope that Spring is coming.  This set can be found on my Etsy shop.  I am off to the studio to make more.

Have a great day!

Springtime!

What does Spring mean to you?  To me, it means all the plants coming back to life.  It is great to see them poking their little heads out of the ground, and the tiny green buds appearing on the trees.  (We won't mention all the pesky bugs though).  I love the gradual lessening of Winter's bite in the air - so nice to go around without a big bulky coat.
My husband and I took a trip this morning and picked up a load of posts.  It seems that many of our fence posts are rotting off in the ground, and the fence is in danger of falling over.  Sheesh - you would think they would last longer than 20 yrs!  LOL.  So I guess to my husband Spring means work!
Our poor old truck is looking like it is in danger of blowing a tire or something - those suckers are heavy.  As I looked at the picture I suddenly realized "how in the @#$% are we going to get those out of there?"  One at a time I guess.

Heather growing on our rock wall - when I first planted it 15 years ago, it was a Fall blooming plant, and for some reason, over the years, it has gradually changed to a Spring bloomer.

Hope you are having a great Spring day!



Hydrangeas Blooming

I finally managed to get this set cleaned and photographed.  I am really pleased with how the "view" inside the frame looks like tiny hydrangea blossoms - one of my favourite flowers.
This set can be found on my Etsy now.

Thanks for looking!

Sad Times And New Beads

I am sorry I haven't been blogging lately, but it has been a sad few weeks for my family.  My Mother has been in the palliative care ward of the hospital, and passed away quietly this last Saturday evening, March 19.  We will all miss her terribly.  My sister and I have been helping our Dad get everything sorted out,  and trying to come to terms with our loss.  It will be a long process, but we will get through it with the support of our family and friends.  Many thanks to all of you who have expressed support either privately or here on my blog.

I don't like to dwell on sorrows, so I am also posting a picture of some "happy" beads.  I made them in response to a request for some ladybug beads.  As I took the class from Melanie Moertel last June, I was able to make what I consider some really cute little ladybugs.  If they are not quite what my customer has in mind then they will go on Etsy in the next couple of days.

Ladybugs and Flowers

Wishing you all a happy, sunny week!

Sunshine and Cedars

I remember how devastated I was many years ago when I heard about John Denver's plane crash.  I truly loved than man's singing - still do.

The first bead is my tribute to him - "Sunshine", named after his song, Sunshine On My Shoulders.  The second bead is a new take on one of my Misty Cedars beads, this time framed in a window.  I am really pleased with this new direction my beads are taking, and will be re-visiting a lot of my old styles to see if they look good "framed" too.

I did make one of my ocean style beads in this framed style, and it turned out really great - but a friend bought it before I could photograph it!  I'll do another this week.

These beads, along with several others can be found in my Etsy shop.

Have a great day!

Drumroll Please!

And the winner of the Pay It Forward is . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Somethingunique"   Congratulations!

(please contact me at jperala@shaw.ca and let me have your name and mailing address)

Thank you so much to everyone who participated - it was so great to hear all your stories, and makes me feel good to know there is so much kindness out there.  Give yourselves a big pat on the back.

This was a lot of fun to do, and it probably won't be the last time I do one.

Have a great day!

URBAN SPRING

I love the colours yellow and purple together - they remind me of the little crocus heads peeking their heads up out of the ground this time of year.  Yes, Spring is just around the corner - yay!!

For a little piece of spring take a look at these two new sets I just added to my Etsy shop.

Urban Spring





Thanks for looking!

Pay It Forward Giveaway

As I posted yesterday, I am doing my turn in the PIF Giveaway, which was started by Staci Louise of Staci Louise Originals

Below are a couple of pictures of what I will be giving away.  I don't have much in the way of "beading" items, so I have added some of my lampwork beads, and one of my Little Misses pendants on a rubber cord.

The first photo shows a couple of packets of those Ugandan paper beads (I love the concept behind those), 2 honey jade oval stones, 2 moon faces (I purchased those ages ago, and just don't know what to do with them), a strand of gold leaf agate (I think that is what the lable says), 10 brown disc-like stones (it says Autumn Stone on the pkg), one moss opalite oval, a package of green vintage glass beads (I was given these a long time ago, and can't verify the age), a package of green quartz, 2 little green shell "thingies", and a package of New Jade rondelles.

The second photo shows my lampwork pieces, a string of ivory seaweed and scallops, Little Missy in her orange Hawaiian dress, a string of 4 chalcedony glass barrels,  one large lime green scallop with 2 spacers, and a little orange shell.

I hope that is enough to interest everyone.  Here is the catch:  You have to comment and tell me how someone has touched you with kindness when you needed it the most.  AND - the winner promises to do their own PIF.

I will do the draw on Sunday, so please be sure to leave me some way to get in touch with you, or be sure to check back to this blog on Sunday.  If I forget to do the draw, as my memory is useless these days, will someone please remind me - LOL.

I Won!!

Staci Louise of Staci Louise Originals had a "not so little" giveaway/pay it forward the other day.       
All you had to do was to post a comment about how someone had helped you smile or feel good when you needed it the most.  The selection was by a random generator - and it picked me - what a clever random thingy - lol ! 

Some of you already know that my Mom is in hospital gravely ill, and will not be coming out.  It is just a matter of time - and probably a very short time.  I commented that it is so nice to have some friends (and a great sister too) who are quite content to just listen to me when I am feeling down.

Along with winning all kinds of beady goodies, the winner (that would be me) has to do their own pay it forward giveaway.  I am going through my stash of beads, and my own lampwork beads too, and will post a picture in a day or two (sorry, I don't have it ready now) and will then ask for everone to comment.  So wait until I do the post with the pictures of what is up for grabs before you comment.

Sorry, no new bead porn pics today - but here is a picture of some "Happy Days" beads I photographed for my photography class.

Have a great week!

Cup of Bead Soup

The lovely and extreemly talented Lori  Anderson of Pretty Things has given me the month of March to be her "Cup of Bead Soup" featured artist.

I sent Lori two sets (sight unseen) and during the month Lori will be designing with these beads and will blog about the process she uses for each piece.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what she designs.
Below are the two sets I sent to Lori.

You can check out my Etsy for similar sets to be listed in the next few days.

Have a great day!

And The Winner is . . . . . .

The winner of my February Etsy draw, for 30% off their next purchase in March 2011 is . . .  drum roll please . . .

nlynnosorio

Thank you to all those who participated through Etsy.

Sorry, no pictures for a few hours - my camera battery is charging up for my last photography class tonight.