2011 BJP

Well, things haven't exactly gone as planned! Since Christmas, my family and I have been passing illnesses back and forth. Some colds, a little flu and even pink eye have found a place here! Kileigh has also had some serious problems lately, that I hope are going to turn around now. Its not a pleasant subject, so I wont go into it here! I haven't been able to squeeze in much beading. Just last night I found the time to bezel my Sapphire Rivoli for my 2010 BJP Birthstone circle. Hopefully as the week goes on I will find more time to work on that. This all being said, I have had to rethink my plans for the 2011 Bead Journal Project. I had a plan to make another frameable piece similar in size to my Birthstone Circle. I am not going to go into detail, because I am planning to use that for next years BJP, providing there is one that is. I really want to get the Birthstone Circle completed soon, so I decided to pare down my ambitious plans for 2011. My theme for this year is to honor important people in my life. I will be doing separate pieces each month, devoted to honoring a specific person or group of people who have had an impact on my life. I also plan to use some new (for me) stitch techniques and colors. Possibly may use some mementos as well on each piece. Time will tell! I hope to get a start on January soon, since this month is flying by. I don't want to be buried before I even begin. In between the 2011 BJP's, I will continue working on 2010. Whew! Wish me luck.

At Last!

I am finally done with my latest Bead Journal piece. This one seemed to take forever! I guess that shouldnt really be a surprise since Christmas and New Years were both in the middle of my work time! This is the month of August on my Birthstone Wheel. The Birthstone for the month of August is the Peridot. I had some challenges with finding my materials for this one. I started off with a Peridot Swarovski Rivoli, and my usual half-moon beads in both matte and shiny finishes. I decided to make the Rivoli the center of a flower, I also used the half-moon beads as petals and leaves of the flower. I searched my stash of size 11 and 15 seed beads and found I was really short on colors that would work. I contacted Cindy of Cindy's Crafts and she so sweetly put together some colors of 11's and 15's and some Charlottes for me that perfectly coordinated with my Rivoli. You just don't find such outstanding service as she provides everyday! I also had trouble finding the correct shade of bugle beads for this one. I had to make do with a green I had on hand, I guess it works. If I could do it over, I would have used some of the darker green in maybe a size 15 to tie the bugles in a little better. Live and learn! All in all, I am happy to be done and quite pleased with the finished product! I still have not started on the 2011 BJP, but hope to reveal my plans early next week. I am looking for a specific component for that project, and once I have that, I will post what my plans are. Meantime, on to September and the beautiful Sapphire!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Bead Box Information

WOW! For anyone who is interested in beads, you should check out the story of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bead Box HERE on Cindys blog. I cannot believe how beautiful the contents of the box are. You can read the story as well as get some sneak peeks on some of the contents of the box there too. Anyone who works with beads would be lucky to get a chance to snag some of the beauties in there for themselves. What a great Christmas gift that would be. I know I would have to curl up for hours (maybe days) and just drool over the contents...lol. Wet beads wouldnt ship well would they? Check it out for yourself and prepare to be amazed. While you are there, look at Cindys creations, she is a lovely, talented woman!

July is done!

Whew! I was hoping this one wouldn't take the whole month, and it didn't. I was able to get it done in 19 days! This has to be a record for me. Anyway, for the month of July, Ruby is the birthstone. I found this color to be extremely difficult to capture with my camera. On my screen, it looks almost fuchsia, but trust me, it is all red! I used a ruby Swarovski Rivoli, 5 shades of red size 11 and size 15 seed beads in matte, transparent and silver-lined finishes. I used my usual 6mm hearts and half-moon beads. I am sad to say that Artbeads has clearanced the half-moon beads out. I think the are a great bead and I have enjoyed their versatility in my project. I am happy to say that I do have all I need to finish my piece though! Luckily I ordered them all in the very beginning. I can see using the flower motif pictured here with black in the center to make a poppy. I continued on with my meandering bugle bead path as I continue my journey, as well as using some pretty red peacock beads in this one. I have all my colors of Peridot picked out for the next wedge in my Birthstone Wheel. On to August! Wish me luck, I have to finish this one before the end of the year to be able to have my pieces featured on the Bead Journal Homepage Gallery. Gotta get beading! Thanks for looking!

PS. ARTBEADS is offering a 20% off coupon to myself and any of my blog followers or blog readers! Here is the message I received: This sneak peek "After Thanksgiving Day Sale" coupon can be used now to get a jump start on great savings before your favorite items sell out. This coupon expires on Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. Use coupon Code: ZZ-THANKSGIVING-SALE at checkout. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2011 BJP

It is that time of year again, when registration for the 2011 Bead Journal Project is underway. It is set to begin January 1, 2011. Registration runs from November 8 - December 8. If you want to know more, or want to register, you can find the form HERE. Look for the registration button at the bottom of the page. I am doing registrations this year, so I look forward to seeing your information coming through! Happy Beading!

June BJP finished!

I said in my last BJP update, that I hoped it wouldn't take me a month to complete the next segment. Well, it did indeed take me a month, but here it is finished! This is the month of June on my Birthstone Wheel. The June Birthstone is Alexandrite. For this piece I used various colors of light purple seed beads in matte and shiny finishes, in both size 15 and size 11. I used the usual Rivoli and half moon beads as well as 6mm heart beads and 1 lonely little peacock bead. I really am happy with this color combination, and will be glad to move on to July, which is the Ruby! I am so happy to be able to find more time for working on my project with the cooler weather and more at home time. I hope the next time will take me less than a month. My goal is to finish 2 more segments before Christmas! Wish me luck. I will need it....

And the winner is....

I numbered the entries I received for the Ghostly Halloween Pin drawing. The entries are:

1. Marty S.

2. Carol

3. Robbie

4. Barbara

5. Heather

6. Robin

I had Kileigh do the drawing and she pulled out #3! Congratulations Robbie, please send me your snail mail address and I will send it right out! Thanks for entering!