Late Merry Christmas!!

Sometimes things just plain dont work out as planned! We had a wonderful time at my daughter Jessica's house on Christmas Eve. She really went all out, trying to make it memorable for everyone, and she succeeded. Great food, beautiful house and good company. It doesn't get any better than that! We then went to a candlelit church service as we do every year. I got completely spoiled by Jess and her husband. They gave me several lovely gifts, the most amazing thing was the 2008 annual Swarovski Crystal Snowflake! It is breath-taking. I was shocked. I don't know if I have told this before, but the only ornaments I have on my tree are snowflakes. I have white lights and snowflakes on the whole tree! Its really pretty.
Anyway, we went to my step moms house on Christmas day and had another wonderful time with her. It was hard being the first Christmas without my Dad, but we all spent some nice quality time with each other. Then, the part that didn't go as planned. We got home to find Maddux on the couch in the midst of another fever. He went up to 105.3 but with wet towels, rimadyl, aspirin and much babying by mama, he went down to 101 in about 3 hours. Hes still running a low-grade temp today. The normal time span for these fevers is 36-48 hours. I am hoping that since it went only to 105, maybe he will be spared the strep and staph infection this time! Wish us luck! Late Happy Holidays!

Mr Buck has progressed!!

I know, I know, it's been WAAAY to long since my last update. Life has seriously gotten in the way of my creativity. After I finished with all my special orders, I had to do what I had planned on for Christmas, which was making an ornament for all my kids, their spouses and my Grandbaby too! I finally finished finished with them, finished my shopping today and all I need to do now is wrap. yes, that's W*R*A*P not R*A*P. I am not quite THAT talented...lol. We are expecting 4-6" of snow tomorrow night and another 4-7" Wednesday night! Yikes! We have about 1 foot on the ground already. Don't get me wrong, I think snow is beautiful, but i am thankful I am not the one to have to shovel or snow blow it! Poor hubby. I think he will survive though.

Here is my update picture of Mr Buck. He was tossed to the side last month to give me time to work on various other pieces. I did find some time to work on him a bit Sunday while we watched football (Go Giants) I had such a nice relaxing time doing so. I had forgotten how relaxing it really is! I have Decembers piece all worked out in my head. I am really going to be stretching the creative process this time. I will boldly go where I have never gone before....and no, i am not writing an episode of Star Trek either! I want to learn some new techniques and i am really excited about this piece as i will be learning lots! Of course, I will finish poor neglected Mr Buck first. I am quite happy with how he is turning out!

Please add Pam T to your prayer list if you haven't already. She is going through some tough times right now and can use all the support she can get. Thinking of you Pam!

WHEW!!!

I am DONE finally with special orders! No more for this year. As you can see, I have been beading my fingers to the bone...lol. I could have done many more, but I just don't have the time, nor the physical stamina to do so. My poor back has been screaming at me to stop. Now I can! Maybe Mr Buck can get some work done to him. Then I am way behind on Decembers page, so I will have to play catch-up. I am proud to say that I made enough just with my beady orders to pay for ALL of Christmas! That's no small accomplishment for sure. On my minimal pension from GM, its hard to come up with the extra money for Christmas. I hope everyone who receives one of my beady gifts will appreciate not only the gift, but the creativity and time behind it too. So many people underestimate the work involved. Each of these Ornaments took 4 hours to make X 14! That doesn't even include the pins which take another 3+ hours. I hope everyone else has there shopping done! Now I am off to do some of that! Hugs Everyone!

Maddux the 10th reindeer!

Isnt this just the most adorable puppy picture you have ever seen? This is Maddux at 4 months of age! He was such an adorable puppy. He grew into a beautiful big boy. We had a blast putting these reindeer ears on him and the look on his face is precious! He looks bored out of his mind. I had to laugh when my Mother in Law sent this to me today. She was kind enough to make it into a stat for me! I know its not bead related, but I had to share!

Tracey where have you been?

RIGHT HERE! I did not disappear. I did not drop off the face of the earth either. I have been hit hard with special orders for Christmas this year. Its a good thing money wise, but not so good time wise. Here is what I have been working on. Add another 15 pins and 6 ornaments to this picture and you will have what I have done so far! I guess my specialty so to speak is dog pins. Most of the patterns are my own, some are not. I have several others I make. All stitched in peyote stitch which is very time consuming. I once did an order of 50 Chow Chow pins for a dog show! I have also done 75 Shar Pei pins at one point! The hard part is making a pattern in the little over an inch wide space that actually LOOKS like the breed its supposed to look like! Not an easy feat for sure.

I am so disappointed in myself that I haven't finished my November project. Mr Buck sits looking forlorn at me while I work on pins! I have 3 more Yorkshire terrier pins and 6 ornaments and then I am all caught up and can finish him. Wish me luck! I have to say I am missing the relaxation of doing embroidery. Its a bit less relaxing working from a word chart or a pattern.

Maddux continues to get better everyday. His spirits are high, he is spunky, happy and eating and drinking well. He is chewing on a pig ear right now, having a blast!

Wishing you a...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This time of year, I have to stop and think of all the blessings in my life. My family, my husband, my dogs, my friends and just living this life! Even though I have some rather severe back and neck issues, I still am in relatively good health compared to a lot of people out there. I am thankful for that! This year I have added 2 son in laws AND a grand baby to my family. I love how our family continues to grow. The circle of life goes on! I hope everyone out there has many things to be thankful for. I want to thank all of you, too! Have a wonderful day, enjoy whatever it is you do. Huge Hugs to you all!
PS. Maddux is doing pretty well considering what he has gone through. He has a long way to go, but he is better. Thanks everyone.

Mr Buck, will you ever be done?

I am feeling like I will never finish this page! I dont know why, but I am not enjoying it like I did the other pages. I just feel kind of blah about the whole thing! I have been so busy making sure Maddux is ok and doing everything for him, filling last minute Christmas orders with various people and worrying about Thanksgiving, the Wedding etc that I just cant get into this project. Maybe after Thursday huh? I miss looking at everyone else's progress and making comments on them too. Just to darn busy right now! Gotta slow down and take care of myself too.

Hubby is deer hunting for the weekend. He will be home tomorrow in about enough time to eat and leave for work. He works a strange shift, 2pm-11pm. Makes it hard to get anything done. BUT, at least he is working! The GM plant is closing here in another month. I feel so bad for those people. Then we all have to worry about losing our pensions and medical coverage if General Motors goes bankrupt. Lets pray that doesn't happen! Geez, some good news would be nice for a change! Thanks for stopping by. You will know when this page is done because it will be a happy day for me! You will probably hear my woo-hoos wherever you live. I just hope hubby doesn't come home with a real buck or doe. He would be upset with me if he knew I was saying that, but its how I feel!

Maddux

Just a quick update on Maddux. We got his culture results back today (finally) and he has 2 serious infections. He has Strep B which is a nasty infection that can cause Toxic Shock Syndrome, Sepsis (blood poisoning) and the Flesh Eating Virus. He also has Staph infection. We have him on Ciprofloxin now 1000mg twice a day. We still don't have the sensitivity results back from the culture so we don't know if this is the correct antibiotic or not yet. I should hear either Sunday or Monday. The cipro seems to be holding the infections where they are, so that's good news I guess. Still no appetite to speak of, but Bubba is drinking well, so that's something! He is hanging in there for me. Poor baby! He tolerates the daily scrub-down of the sores he has which has got to be extremely painful for him. We have to leave the antibacterial shampoo on his skin for 15 minutes which seems like an eternity. I just talk to him and rub his cute little face and he listens to every word I say. Such an angel! I wish you could all know him, he is so special. He makes even people that don't like dogs fall in love with him. If you are a dog lover, you would adore him. I will update Mr Buck later today! Hes coming along, winding down! YAY!

My Butterfly

Well, she is mine, but not made by me. She was made by Lynn of beading heart art who is one of the most talented and sharing people I have had the privilege of coming across in the bead world. I commented on several of her butterflies on her blog and told her if she would ever make a chocolate and blue combination, I might have to come and tackle her for it. I didn't have to tackle her, she made one and sent it to me. Can you believe my good fortune? I thought I really like her bead work until I actually owned a piece of it. Now I know I LOVE it! This is truly a gift and at a much needed time for me too. Bless you and thank you so much Lynn. Your generosity and friendship means more to me than you could ever know.

Maddux update: not much more to report. We are still waiting to hear the culture report to see if he is on the right medication for this infection. The NY specialist had many suggestions for my Vet and they are working together to try to figure out the correct protocol for Maddux. She informed me about the rareness and seriousness of this illness. Its not like I don't already know since I am the one taking care of him. She made it all sound so grim. I hope we can prove her wrong.

Quick update

I just wanted to fill in those of you who are following Maddux's story. Had another trip to the Vet this afternoon after finding several huge blisters on his tummy and flanks. He has Toxic Shock Syndrome! It was brought on by his extremely high fever Saturday night. This poor baby doesn't get a break. We had it cultured to be sure he is on the correct antibiotic for this virus. We will get preliminaries tomorrow hopefully. Throughout all of this, his little tail still wags for his mama. I stopped at McDonald's on the way home and got him a double cheeseburger. He ate the whole darn thing! His temperature is down to 101.5 which is great. Now we have to get him to get feeling better. I am doing lots of research and contacted a Vet in NY who specializes in Shar Pei Fever Syndrome. She is calling me tomorrow. I hope she can help us. If she cant, no one can! Maddux says thank you to everyone for all their prayers. He sends out big slobbery kisses to you all!
Tomorrow I will post something I got in the mail on Monday. Be prepared to have your socks blown off! I know mine were. Boy, that didnt just date me did it??
HINT: its from Lynn of beading heart art if you haven't already, you have GOT to look at her blog. This is one talented, sweet lady. Hugs to everyone!!

No Update on Mr Buck

I just plain havent had time to work on him. Once again, I have a sick dog. Saturday night after Mike and Jess left, I noticed Maddux was walking stiff legged again. That is not a good sign. Took his temperature and it was 104.1. Not horrible, but not normal either. So I pulled out the new wonder drug I got from the vet and gave him a double dose of it as I was instructed. Waited 45 min, took the temp again 105.6. It should not have risen after a double dose of the new med. SO, off we go to bed, out come the cold wet towels, 1 for him to lay on, 2 rolled up to put in his groin area, 1 rolled up to put in his arm pit area, 2 over his entire body. I also turned the fan on him. When Maddux is sick he wants to practically lay on top of me, so I am soaking wet with a fan on me too freezing my butt off! Anyway, we lay like that for another 45 min, take his temp 106.8. Now i am freaking out. this is the danger zone. I start to cry, like thats going to do any good. I am rotating the towels and re-wetting them every 15 minutes. By this time is 2am and I cant get the darn fever to break. SO, I call my poor vet at home. He tells me to give him 100 mg of rimadyl. I do and retake his temp 1/2 hour later. 105.6. Better. We continue to do the wet towels for another hour. Finally at 4am he is 104.9 and sleeping. I am not sleeping. In fact, I didnt sleep all night. I was watching him, crying and worried beyond belief. Yesterday he was ok. Ran a fever all day but nothing above 104.5. During the night last night, I was petting him and checking his belly to see if he was burning up and felt something weird. Turned on the light grabbed my flashlight and looked at him. To make a long story short, he has about 20 blisters full of infection, its that darn strep infection again (the same one that causes flesh eating virus) another middle of the night call to the vet, wake hubby up to go to Walgreens (thank god for them being open 24 hours) and Maddux is now on 1000mg of Cephalexin 2 times a day for 2 weeks. I feel so bad for him and am so worried about him and how many times his poor body can go through this. I am just hoping he can remain strong and get through this again. Wish us luck!

Mr Buck Update!

Here is my latest update for my November Bead Journal Project! I will be so happy when he is done, it seems like I have been working on this page for months now! I am pretty happy with how it is progressing. I wish now that I hadn't done the pine trees. It seems to me that they are just kind of plopped in there with no rhyme or reason. I think my favorite part has to be the birch trees. For not having a clue what I was doing, I think they turned out kind of nice! I really like the texture and color of them. Its hard to tell in the photo, but I actually used 4 different shades of gold/yellow. This is a definite learning process.

My original plan was to do 2 pages for this month. That's not gonna happen! My youngest daughter Courtney has decided to get married with only about 3 weeks notice! Her boyfriend Brandon is supposed to be deployed in January, so they decided to do this before he leaves. Between that and Thanksgiving, I will be lucky to get Novembers page done! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! The weekends just fly dont they? My daughter Jess and her husband Mike are coming over tonight to play some cards or watch a movie, so I am looking forward to that. Jess is a RN and works 3rd shift, so time with her is precious. Wish me luck on Mike and I kicking Jessisca and Chucks butts in Euchre! Its on Jess!!

Also, to everyone that is following along, Maddux continues to do very well. You would never know how sick he was such a short time ago! I am hoping his medications are working to keep his kidneys from failing! I know he is still sick, but its hard to believe right now. I am enjoying every minute I have with him, because we just dont know how long he will have. Keep us in your prayers!

Mr Buck can eat!

Well as you can see, Mr Buck can now eat. His crops are filling in nicely. I cant believe I didn't think they looked like crops before. they sure do now. At least to me anyway! I am really undecided on how to proceed with the sky though. Just cant picture how i want it to look. I still have to fill in more trees and fields first. Seems like my beaders block has lifted (for now) so maybe something will pop into my head on of these sleepless nights. I do know I want to continue with the fields to the right of the buck. I am still trying to figure out what color I want to do the antlers in. It will all come together, I know it will. Sometimes I just have something click in my head and I know exactly what I want to do. Other times, its a slow process, I do some work, don't like it and tear it out!

This afternoon I get to watch Kileigh for an hour while her Mom gets her eyes checked. That should be fun. I love playing with her! Makes me feel like a kid again. Well, maybe not a kid! Maybe a Mom instead of a Grandmother! I still don't feel old enough to be a grandma!

Hope every ones week is going well. I wish you all happiness and creativity!

Lucky? Who me?

Normally I would have to say no. BUT...Not today! I went to Pam's blog page my sweet cherry blossom where I saw she was having a little trivia contest. The winner was to receive one of her beautiful felted sheep. All I had to do was answer a question about I movie I just happened to be familiar with. Well, to make a long story short, I WON! I was the first person to answer the question. To say I am thrilled is an understatement. I got this cute little package in the mail on Saturday. I was so excited to open it, expecting to find a teenie little lamb. Well she is not teenie, shes about 6" high. The most adorable thing I have ever seen. Pam also threw in 3 of her crocheted acorns, which now have me wanting to make some. Gotta bribe my hubby to pick me up some acorn caps next time he goes hunting. Anyway, check out Pam's blog to find the tutorial on these adorable acorns. She also has beautiful bead work on her blog. She is multi-talented and also very generous! Thanks again Pam!

Look for an update on Mr Buck tomorrow! Happy Monday everyone!

Mr Bucks Progress Report

Well here he is, a little more done! I haven't had as much time as I would like to work on Mr Buck. I think I am ok with where it is going now. I think I need to give the process more time and not form an opinion so quickly. I need to have enough done to where I can actually form an honest opinion. I am learning that patience is not one of my strong points where my beads are concerned. I want it to be perfect and I don't think that's possible. I pick on my daughter Jess for wanting all her ducks in a row, maybe I need to tell myself the same thing. Sometimes the ducks just want to fly, not always be in a row!

I finally got my hair done today (highlights, low lights and cut) so I feel a bit more human. With Maddux being sick and my Hairdresser sick too, its been about 8 weeks since I got it done. I usually go every 5 weeks so I was looking a bit shabby. Tonight I have a candlelight mass where Hospice will read the names of every one of their patients that died in 2008. As many of you know, my Father passed away in January of this year. Just a couple weeks before Kileigh was born. I am dreading and looking forward to it both at the same time. It will be good to see everyone, but I am sure my emotions will be running high too. I miss him every day. Courtney and Kileigh are going with me. Jess has to work.

Thanks everyone who looks here for their feedback and support. It really means a lot to me. I love looking at everyone else's blogs and try to leave comments there as well. The support among BJP people is amazing!

Mr Buck (hit a brick wall)

I did not drop off the face of the earth! I have had something strange happen to me. I believe its called Beaders Block? I have heard of people having trouble working on certain pieces. I myself, have never had that happen...until now! I just do not know where i am going with this page. It seems like in my head, I know exactly what I want to do, what I want it to look like. Then comes the hard part, actually doing it and being happy with the results. The other night I had a vision pop into my head about doing something in the background that would look like crops in the field. What I ended up with, looks like a road with a strip of grass down the middle. So I stopped, put it away hoping it would look better today. NOPE! Maybe its because I have done so little of it and need to keep going with it. I just don't know. What pointers do any of you have about how you get yourself motivated when you hit the brick wall? Do you think it will look like crops if I keep going? Should I just tear it out and start over? HELP!!!!

PS. Maddux is doing pretty well. Not eating the best yet, but drinking and having little spurts of energy here and there! He made it throught this bout, lets hope its a long time before another fever hits. I dont think he could take much more after the severity of this episode. Thanks for all your care and concern.

Mr Buck and Mr Maddux!

Well lucky you! A double update. Maddux seems to have turned the corner so to speak. He drank on his own for the second time in 6 days. I know that doesn't sound like much, but to me it is! He has a little spunk in his step today. Even begged a little for some people food! I pray this is a good sign, I think it is! Lets hope he continues to improve and gets back to the little man I love. Thank you everyone for your prayers and well wishes. Its nice to know so many people care. You don't think he is a wee bit spoiled looking at this picture do you? NAH!

Mr Buck got a little work done to him last night. His surroundings are filling in a little more now. I don't know why, but I am putting off finishing off his ears and antlers. I am not quite sure on the colors for his antlers, so maybe that is why I am putting it off. Who knows! I feel like some weight has been lifted off my shoulders too, so maybe my creative side will kick back in instead of my nurturing side. I nice balance of both would be good.

A couple people have asked me how I picked Maddux for my precious dogs name so here is how the story goes. I am a big baseball fan. I started off being a cubs fan back in the 80s. They had a rookie pitcher named Greg Maddux. I was never one to watch soap operas so when I started seeing lots of Cubs day games, I became addicted to baseball, Greg Maddux in particular. he still pitches today, although I dont get to see him much on his new team. When i got my boy, I knew I wanted to give him a sports related name so his AKC registered name became LuckyWun Cooperstown Bound (Cooperstown is the baseball hall of fame where I am confident Greg Maddux will be someday) and of course, his call name is Maddux! That's it in a nutshell. Nothing exciting, but maybe interesting for some? Have a wonderful day and lets hope my boy gets stronger everyday. Thanks again (especially Lynn and Carol) HUGS!

Update on Maddux

The test results are back and its not the best of news. His kidneys and liver are working fine as of now, but the tests showed he is in the very early stage of kidney failure. This is not at all what I was hoping for. We now have him on several medications to help keep amyloid plaque from building up in his liver and kidneys. Sometimes the medication can keep this disease from becoming full blown amyloidosis, sometimes it does not. The prognosis is guarded at this time. He did take a drink of water for the first time in 5 days last night. I am forcing Popsicles, broth, pedialyte and anything else I can think of down him. He is at least well hydrated at this time. He is still lethargic today, after a brief burst of energy last night. Thank you everyone for your support during this rough time. We are praying we will have much more time with Maddux, but being realistic that we may not. It is heartbreaking. I will continue to post new information as I get it. I will also post a beady update tomorrow. I haven't had much time for beads lately and my mind has not been able to concentrate on anything but my Maddy. I think it would be therapeutic for me to try to do a little work on my page tonight. Blessing to you all!

Maddux

Gosh there are so many nice people out there in the bead world! I want to say a personal thank you for all the well wishes for Maddux. I wish I had good news to report, but so far I dont. We are heading out to the vet again today at 3:30 my time. He has developed a cough now and is walking stiff legged. I dont know what this means. The 1000mg of antibiotics seems to be holding the strep virus at the same level it was on Sunday. That is good news. We are just praying he is not in kidney or heart failure. He is only 4. He is just the sweetest dog in the world. He cant be this sick. I thought he would be getting better by now. Lets hope the Vet gives me some good news today. Cross your fingers!

Mr Buck is moving along!

I am pretty happy with the way my buck is turning out. I like the way the beads resemble actual fur on the body of the deer. I have decided not to put grommets on this page. I am planning on framing him to put in the computer room - the one that has the antlers on the wall:( to remind myself of happier things. I try not to pay to much attention to the various mounts my husband has in this room. He is proud of them, they make me sad. I guess you only have the right to make decisions for yourself, do what you feel is right. I cant force my beliefs and lifestyle onto someone else. We (my hubby and I) agree to disagree on the hunting issue. I have to accept that.

So now I have the choices to make on what I am going to do with the background on this one. I think I want to do some pine trees, birch trees and maybe add in some of the oranges and reds of maple trees. I think that would be really pretty! I love all the fall colors. they make me happy.

On a personal note, I have had a very stressful weekend. Friday night my dog got sick. I took his temperature and it was 107+ off to the vet we went with an emergency call. Maddux got IV fluids under the skin. He is still sick today, but I have hopes he will get better. This illness he has is called Shar Pei Fever Syndrome and it can lead to kidney failure, so this is very scary. He is my heart dog and only 4 years old. He could use a few prayers.

Poodle no more...

No more poodle look for this guy. He is finally actually looking like a buck to me! As you can see, I added some birch trees in as well. I am not quite sure where I am going with this background yet. The nice thing is, I am really not committed to anything! I have visions of what I want it to look like, but am not sure about the execution of it. Time will tell huh?

I want to also say thank you to Lynn of beading heart art for all the help she gives me. If you haven't looked at her blog, you should! She has such talent, and makes the prettiest wallets and other beaded goodies! I have asked her for help on various techniques she uses, and she has always guided me in the right direction. I can also say the same for Pam T of beads and other things She has helped me as well and I want to say thank you! The people in this group are so giving, encouraging and helpful, its a wonderful thing to be a part of! I only hope I can be of help should someone ever approach me in the manner I have approached others! I will try.

A Buck or a Poodle?

Right now I am leaning towards poodle! Or maybe Boodle or Puck? Seriously though, I know I have to give it a chance, but so far this is not looking like I had imagined. I wanted it to have a textural look like the hair on a buck. Not sure this is it! I am also re-thinking the pine trees in the background as I have it drawn now. I think I may sketch in some birch trees as well to break it up a little more. That's the beauty of this medium though, you aren't committed to anything until you stitch it! Not really even then, as you always have the option of ripping it out and starting over.My poor mind is always working, especially when I should be sleeping. I wake up with ideas in my head that excite me, then have a hard time going back to sleep. Its a sickness I tell you! Of all the sicknesses there are though, I am glad so far, this is mine! Thanks for looking my friends!

Tagged...Not flagged!

Silly me! When I saw I was tagged by beadbabe49 my first thought was why? What did I do wrong...lol. I was confused thinking it was the same thing as being flagged by someone on Craig's List which is a no-no! Anyway, since I have absolutely no clue what I am doing, I will do my best to follow the rules! Forgive me if I mess it up! I need to post 7 unknown things about myself. Evidently I need to also tag 7 people who I would like to know more about and link to their blog. SO, the following people are now tagged by ME!

Lynn of beadingheartart
Kassie of The Beading Butterfly
Kim of running on ink
Julie of Angelamps
Rosalie of Beading with Rosalie
Pam of my sweet cherry blossom
Victoria of artntheheart

So now to the 7 little known facts about me:

1. I was married the first time at 16!
2. I am scared to death of centipedes and June bugs....shudder!
3. I love forensics shows and medical shows
4. I could spend every cent of money I have on home decorating supplies and would secretly love to be a professional decorator
5. I am very insecure about my bead work
6. I am a HUGE procrastinator about paying my bills
7. I wish I could have another baby (kind of too old now at 49!)
Man that was harder than I thought! Sorry to the people I tagged! Hugs to you all!

Close, but no winner!

Well you were all right on one thing, it is an eye! It is actually an eye attached to a whitetail buck! That is what my page this month will feature. The reason I went with this as my subject matter is that November is a hard month for me. I am an extreme animal lover. I understand all the reasons for deer hunting. I understand that the population would explode and there would be more car-deer collisions, more crop and property damage, starving deer etc. I understand all of that, and my husband is an avid deer hunter too! What I don't understand is the pleasure people get from killing a magnificent animal. My husband relives his kills and gets this look in his eyes that I only see when he talks deer hunting/killing. He becomes obsessed! He watches these shows about deer hunting and I just cringe. The narrator on the show says "Isn't this a beautiful buck" and I want to yell NO, its not beautiful anymore, its DEAD! It is one thing my husband and I don't see eye-to-eye on. So, for this page i am celebrating all the beautiful live bucks and doe out there! Sorry if I have offended anyone on my view on deer hunting. Its just my opinion!

A Mystery for you...

What is this? Can anyone guess? It is just a snippet of my November piece and I thought it would be fun for you to try and figure it out! Please give as detailed a guess as possible. No cheating Kim - you already know what it is...hahaha! You too Jess & Courtney! Seriously, if anyone guesses correctly, I will send you a small surprise in the mail! Limit 1 guess per e-mail! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Mine should be quiet and relaxing, unless things change dramatically overnight! Guesses excepted until Midnight Sunday. Give it your best shot!

TA DA!!!!!

It is done! I am very please with my finished piece for October! I learned quite a bit with this one. Some real trial and error went into this months page, along with starting over due to a miscalculation with space planning and a little trouble with removing some beads and tearing my fabric. I cant promise I wont do it again. Sometimes I have to be hit upside the head a few times to get it through my thick skull. Haha! My Mother always said I was stubborn. Who? Me? I think not!

I had a nice day with my 3 girls today. We all get along so well and truly enjoy each others company. Had some friendly kidding with each other and some good laughs. Time sure does fly when we are together. I hope you all have a beautiful evening! I am off to work some more on Novembers page. I think I may have to do 2 for that month. Otherwise, I will run out of projects before the end of November gets here. We will see! Hugs to you all.

Another progress report!

I am really moving along on my page! I will be done tonight or tomorrow. Unfortunately I have yet another trip to the dentist today, so that will cut into my beading time! I hate when that happens.....haha! Got my November page drawn out yesterday. I have to confess, I did a little work on that as well. I will post those pictures after Octobers is finished. This cool, rainy weather is ideal for staying inside and working on beads. With my hubby working 11 hour days, I get my housework done early and have the rest of the day to do whatever I want to do! I have to confess, I am liking it! Happy Humpday!

October, winding down

This page is really moving along, nearing the completion! I am kind of sad about that! Silly isn't it? I have really enjoyed the creative process for this months piece. I have tried some new techniques and stretched my creativity a bit too! I think the BJP has made me think outside the box, to expand my horizons so to speak. Already ideas for November are swirling around in my head. I have a plan. I don't know if it will work, but I am planning the piece in my head during my sleepless nights. I did the same thing last month. Can you say obsessed?

We have A Winner....

Jacquie! Please e-mail me at need2bead247@charter.net with your mailing address! I will send it out as soon as I get that! Congratulations! Thanks to everyone for joining in on this give away. Watch for more in the near future. You just never know when I will slip one in here...lol.

Oops! Forgot update!

I was so excited about the freebie, that I forgot to post my latest update on my October BJP! I haven't updated all week, but that doesn't mean I haven't beaded! Here is my progress to date. I am liking the effect of the background so far....

Its Freebie Friday!!

This weeks give away is a pair of Sterling silver pumpkin earrings along with a 2 drop peyote stitched pumpkin pin! The basket is for display only, and is not included! This pin is my own design, beaded with delica beads. All you have to do is leave a comment on todays post between now and Sunday midnight! Thats it, no gimmick! I will assign a number to each name and draw a winner on Monday October 13.

Dark And Gloomy...

Thats how I think this piece is turning out! Really, it is exactly what I was hoping for adding this type of background. I am a little disappointed in how the tree is somewhat lost against the backdrop, BUT isn't this what Halloween is all about? I am thinking the moon is going to really "pop" once the background is done. We can only hope for a clear star studded night on actual Halloween for all the little trick-or-treaters out there! I have some ideas of what to do after my background is filled in. It could either make or break this page.....stay tuned for more updates! I have lots of time this upcoming week for beads, so it should move along rather quickly at this point. I say that now, but life has a way of changing in the blink of an eye, doesn't it?

TGIF!

I survived my trip to the oral surgeon! I am very thankful that is over. Now to heal! I don't know about you, but when my mouth hurts, I am miserable and cant think about anything else. I really hated to lose the tooth, but had no choice.

Anyway, I was able to get some more work done on my page for October. I tried a couple different things with this page. I learned how to add texture by using 3 beads at a time to make the bark of the tree look more textural and realistic. I also used some size 8 beads and instead of stringing them on the thread and laying them flat, I attached them 1 at a time and put a size 15 bead and went back through the size 8 so it lays flat. I really like this look. I am really learning lots as I go along on this journey! Have a wonderful weekend, I will try to do the same!

Got Some More done!

Here is my update for last nights beading! I am sorry the picture isn't better, I didn't realize when I took the picture how bad it was! Anyway, you get the idea of how its looking. I am not real sure about the background yet. Not sure I am really liking it. I just think the blacks I am using are shocking against the white of the stiff stuff I am using. Maybe I will like it better when more is done? I plan on a few hours of beading today as long as my back holds up that is! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! OH!! I almost forgot! Friday October 10th will be the next Freebie Friday! I will post the piece I am giving away then....Same rules, just leave a comment and I will draw a winning name on the 10th!

Yet More Progress

I am home after an unexpected trip to the dentist. Ughhh, broke a molar on shredded wheat last night! Looks like a tooth pulled on Friday. Not fun. I can think of a thousand different things I would rather do. I worked awhile last night on my page. I thought it sounded like a good idea to put some swish type marks on my piece that would signify wind....Well, that's what I get for thinking! It looked stupid, so out they came! You can still see the marks left behind! I am trying to come up with an idea that would look better than those stupid Nike looking swishes! Here is my progress so far. I wish I knew how to make my my page resemble a rectangle! Looks square in my camera viewfinder!

Feels Like Fall!

Weather like this is my favorite kind of weather! I know my girls Jess & Courtney think I am nuts, but this time of year with the 50 degree days and 40 degree nights is my ideal! I love fall colors and smells. The apple stand is full of wonderful colors and beautiful mum plants! I just love it.

Anyway, here is my progress on my October page. I thought I was so far ahead, but I am really not! October starts tomorrow. I am happy with how its turning out. Its so much fun to use these pretty colors, the subject matter is fun too. Just what I needed for this month after the doom and gloom of the past 2 pieces I have done. In my mind I have the next 4 or so pages all figured out. I may have to do more than 1 per month though, with all the ideas I have in mind! Gotta go bead shopping too one of these days. I keep talking about it, I just need to do it! Have a wonderful evening. I just brewed a pot of hot tea....yummy! Gonna curl up on the couch, sip some tea and bead! Sounds like the perfect evening to me.

Moving along!

My company has gone and I got some time yesterday to do a little beading. I am fairly happy with the progress so far! I am really having trouble coming up with an idea for the background of this page though. Not sure of what direction to go. For now I will be working on the tree and other aspects of this page. I have gotten some inspiration from a fellow BJP member Pam T and her beautiful tree, so I may do something a little different and add in some fiber or something similar to make the tree a bit more realistic. I am not sure I could make it have the look I want using just beads! This is one of the great things about doing this project, you can learn from, and be inspired by other members. Everyone is so encouraging and willing to help and I love that! I look forward to a peaceful weekend, full of beads and relaxation! I hope you all can find the time to do something you love as well. For me, creativity is my sanity.

Technique

I have gotten a couple questions on how to do bead embroidery. I actually learned on my own the hard way! In my searching for better ways to do this technique, I found an animated primer that really shows clearly how this is done. You can see it here. I have made a couple tweaks to my own way of doing things after seeing it done on this animated tutorial. I am looking for a book that clearly shows different ways of adding texture to my beaded pages. Does anyone know of a good book that shows this? I would really appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.

Some progress.....

I have some unexpected company so I am not getting much beading done. I had forgotten how hard it is to get anything done with a crawling baby around! Don't get me wrong, I am loving every minute of it! As you can probably see from my sketch, I had to start over with this months page. I had most of the moon done when I decided I didn't like a color choice I had made. When I tried to tear the beads out, I tore the fabric instead! Actually it all worked out because I hadn't thought it through carefully enough and some of the elements for my page wouldn't have worked with the grommets I need to put on the page. Back to square 1!! Oh well, it will all work out in the end right?

Happy Halloween!

I have decided to do a fun piece for my October BJP. I am thinking Halloween! I sketched out a tentative plan. Don't know for sure if I will stick to this sketch, as things seem to change while I stitch. I have a vision of what i want my moon to look like. If it turns out as I hope, it will be really pretty! Sometimes plans and visions are way better than actuality though! We will See as I progress. I am loving this process! I feel it is really not only making me think, but changing the way I see bead shapes, techniques and feelings to! Is this perhaps what creativity is all about?? Watch and see!

AND THE WINNER IS........

Here are the entrants and their numbers!

#1 Kim H

#2 Erin K

#3 Cozy Cabin

#4 Christie

#5 Heidi Beads

#6 chris.britbiz

#7 Deborah

#8 Freebird

#9 Beadin Gram

#10 Marty

#11 Pam T

#12 lillian

#13 Ethel

#14 Michelle

#15 Thanh

#16 Betty N

#17 Beth Norman

#18 Lynn

#19 CC

Good luck everyone! And the winner is.................... LILLIAN!! Congratulations! Please send your address to:

need2bead247@charter.net Thanks! Watch for more give aways in the future! Tracey

Freebie Friday!!

Here is how it works! All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog, from today until Sunday. That's it! I will assign a number to each posting in the order it is received. On Monday September 22 I will put all the numbers in a hat (or similar vessel) and my darling husband will draw a name. The winner gets this little ghost Halloween pin! This is my own design, beaded by my 2 little hands! I will post the winner on this blog Monday! Couldn't be easier, could it? Watch my blog tomorrow for the start of my October page. Its going to be spooktacular! I know, I am a dork! What can I say? Happy Friday everyone! If this give away goes well, I will pick a Friday each month and repeat it!

FINISHED!!!

Wow! I can hardly believe it myself I AM DONE!! What a great feeling. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. Not thrilled, but pleased. I wonder why the square looks so off in my pictures? Anyone have a clue? In person it looks nice and square. In the pictures it looks askew. Oh well! I have no control over that, it is what it is. Its a beautiful day here today. 70's, sunny. the cicadas are buzzing outside. I am loving my husband being back to work too! I have so much free time to do whatever I want, or nothing I don't want to do either.

SO! The next thing for me to do is figure out what I want to do for my next page. I have made myself a promise, and that is NOTHING sad for this one. After doing my Fathers page and then the last one being 1/2 gloomy I need happy! I think I will do a Halloween page! I love orange, black and scary so it will be perfect. I will try to sketch it out today and post it tomorrow. Wish me luck! Also, I will be doing a give away tomorrow (Friday) nothing too fancy but free never the less! Watch for that as well. All you will have to do is leave a comment with your name.....More tomorrow! Happy Thursday everyone!

Sad Day

The funeral is now over. I hope the family can heal in time and learn to go on after their loss. It was a very touching funeral, what a beautiful family this is and I am proud to have been a part of it. Bless you all!

On a lighter note, I was able to get some more bead work done here and there. I am still not in love with my page. I like it a lot, but don't love it. Maybe its just because of all the sadness going on around me. It brings my Fathers death back full force. How life changing and profound it all is. I know death is a part of life, not a favorite part, but a big part nonetheless. You have to make sure the people you love know how much you love them while they are still here. Otherwise you may not get the chance to tell them one more time. I hope all my loved ones know. I try to show them, but time gets away on you too! So I send a big hug out to everyone I love and even some I don't like too much or don't even know. Everyone can use an extra hug right? More tomorrow!

PROGRESS!!

I am finally liking where this piece is going. Took me long enough huh? Its been a relaxing day so far and I need it!! I am finding that I like doing bead embroidery even more than I thought I would. Maybe I have finally found my niche? Could that be? I don't know but I am loving it. With my page I did about my Fathers death, I found myself just wanting it to be done and over after a while. With this page, I don't want to be done! I am actually getting a little sad that its almost there! Is that strange or what? Now my mind is going to next months page...what to do? Do I do something fun or something with more meaning? I don't know where I will go with that one! I guess time will tell.

Its Friday!!

Well for a little while Anyway! We had some unexpected but nice company tonight so I couldn't post my update earlier. Here is how my page is progressing. I hope to be finished after the weekend, depending on what I manage to accomplish this weekend. I have a family reunion tomorrow and a very sad funeral on Monday/Tuesday. I don't know why I said a sad funeral, they are all sad to me! I hope everyone has a great weekend. My hubby is excited as its opening bow-hunting on Saturday. I am excited because that means the house to myself and LOTS of beading! Wish me luck!

Comedy/Tragedy

Well today turned out to be another of those comedy/tragedy type days! My Mom had a biopsy done on some bones in her feet. She seems to be doing ok so far... My husband got some great news too. The General Motors plant here in Janesville is closing and my husbands place of employment is a company that does side jobs for the GM plant only. This means he is also losing his job. He had an interview last week with a very promising company and got the news he got the job and they want him to start Monday! We are thrilled to say the least. I was able to get some beading done too. Here is my latest updated picture. Its really coming along!

Have a wonderful remainder of the day!

More progress

Hello??? Anyone out there? I got my grommets done yesterday as planned and a little more bead work too. If you notice from yesterdays picture, the line of green beads is gone...I hated it and didnt know where to go from there so I ripped them out and started over. I am really enjoying these bright colors. I don't really know where I am going with this piece. I don't think I actually have a say in it, the beads are doing all the talking here! As I work on this piece, my mind is going around and around about next months page. I am thinking something along the lines of Halloween or maybe a fall colors type page. Luckily October is a rather happy month for me, no bad memories or sad things to do a page about. Looks like I can do anything I please! I used to have a really neat picture of the most gnarly, ugly and scary tree, that would be really fun to work with. Hmm...I wonder where I have that picture!?

Rainy Day

Well, I guess today is a payback for all my comments about the beautiful weather lately! Its a rainy Monday here, only about 55 degrees tops, gloomy and wet. PERFECT day to bead! I had a hard time sleeping last night so I grabbed my lap tray and my beads and worked long into the night. Well, actually long into the morning! I finally got tired about 5 am. I did manage to get lots done though. Maybe I should just give up sleeping at all, seems its highly overrated. I think later today I will add my grommets to this page. I don't know why, but I love doing that! I think I can actually see where this page is going. I'm still not in love with it, but I feel its coming along. On a day like today, the bright colors are a definite pick-me-up. More tomorrow!

Something a little different!

I didn't feel like working on my page today, so I thought I would take a break from it and do something different. I made this pattern awhile back and wanted to see how it turned out beaded up. I think I like it! What do you think? I love these Pincharming pins, the head screws off and allows you to slip your beads right on, then screw the head back on. This allows you to change it up whenever your little heart desires. I have worked on my page today, but I wont show the update until tomorrow. I am moving right along that's for sure! Check back tomorrow to see where I am at!

Great Day of Progress

What a beautiful day here in Wisconsin today! Sunny, low 70s, absolutely gorgeous. The complete opposite of this piece so far! How did I spend my day you ask? WELL I beaded of course! I got quite a bit done and am in the stage of not liking it. I like the process, just not the piece. For one thing, I do not as a rule like gray. I don't like monotony. I don't like sad. That in a nutshell is what I have in this page so far. SO, I guess that explains my feelings thus far. I can't wait to get this half done and start on the more positive side. I know "Life ain't always beautiful" so I guess I will stick this piece out and see how it develops. I do have lots of September left if I absolutely hate it, right?? Hope your weekend is wonderful!

A Little Progress!

Here is my progress for today. Not much, but it gives you an idea! I have decided to do the tragedy side in shades of gray. That means I will do the comedy side in vibrant colors. I am thinking maybe a cloud over the tragedy side and a sun over the comedy side. As I said before, conflicting colors and styles. This should be fun! Looks like I will have loads of time tomorrow to bead, so maybe I will make more progress then. Wish me luck and thank you for looking! My mind is just whirling with thoughts and plans for more pieces. I am already looking forward to October! How pathetic is that?

Comedy/ Tragedy Septembers Piece

SO!!! Here is the much anticipated (by me anyway) September Page for the BJP. I have decided to do a Comedy/Tragedy theme for this months page! The year 2008 had been just that for me, extremely bad in some ways, and unbelievably good in others...thus the comedy/tragedy theme was born! My Father passed away in January as many of you know from my practice piece in another posting=tragedy. My first grandchild was born 3 weeks later=comedy (well happiness anyway) My daughter Jess (who I am extremely proud of) graduated with Distinction from the University of Minnesota with a Nursing Degree, moved back home after 5 years away, bought a house here in Janesville, accepted a job at Mercy Hospital AND got married to the perfect man for her ALL of which is wonderful. Her husbands family is dealing with the illness of his father which is a definite tragedy. My poor Mother has faced a never-ending series of health challenges over the years and faces yet another surgical procedure in the next week or so. HANG IN THERE MOM, I LOVE YOU!

It seems to be a never-ending roller coaster ride thus far. To reflect all to this emotion I decided to work my next piece exactly in this was, conflicting emotions and styles as well as colors! I have it all planned in my head, lets see where my needle, thread and beads take me! Watch for daily updates (well almost daily anyway) Thanks for looking and your comments make my day!

Coming clean......

Ok, I have a confession to make. I couldnt wait until September 1st. Since i have never done bead embroidery before, I wasnt sure I would be able to do it, how long it would take, would it look acceptable etc. SO....I decided to do a "sample piece". I had heard how doing embroidery could be a way to deal with emotions or trouble in your life, that it was therapeutic to some degree. I didnt have to think long to decide on what topic I would like to work my first piece in. I lost my Father to cancer early this year after a very short bout with this killer disease. I was with him through chemotherapy, radiation and through the whole death process right until the end. It has forever changed my life, some ways good, some ways bad. I wanted to do something to honor him in some way and this is what I came up with. His favorite color was blue and I modeled the eye in the picture after my own eye. My Dads Birthday was in August so this was the perfect thing to do. What do you think? I am pleased with how it turned out. LOVE YOU DAD.

My Granddaughter

Well I know she isn't bead related BUT I think she's just too cute not to share with you! This is my Granddaughter Kileigh Lynn. She will be 7 months old tomorrow! Happy Birthday Eve Peanut. Your Grandma loves you VERY much!