Oct. page continued

Here is the third in progress picture of my October page. As you can see, the fire is larger and consuming the tree on the right. The cabin is half finished now. I used some clear plastic with orange marker on the back for the windows so they would seem to reflect the fire. More on this page when it is finished.

Oct. page in progress

This is my October BJP page in progress. I found the fabric in my stash of batiks. After the summer spent watching all the fires in California, I knew I had to do this page. Once again, in October, the fires started. What better time?

This is one of the few pages I do each year that I actually have a plan for. As you can see, the A-frame cabin is in danger. I love the skeletonized trees in this fabric. and the orange patch as well.
The trees have been fleshed out a bit here in the second shot and the fire has started. It's pretty amazing that as I bead this page, it actually feels like the fire is growing and destroying the trees. I haven't decided exactly what to do with the cabin yet.

The fires have devastated our beautiful state this year. As more people build out into the wilderness, I'm afraid it will only get worse. Most of these fires were started by lighting, but unfortunately many were started by man. It's sad that more do not care that they cause great loss of property and life by their carelessness and deliberate acts.

I will post another picture of this page, as it disappeared from this blog.

Relaxation Time

Just got back from a relaxing two days at the coast. I went with my friend, Heidi. She took this pic of me in front of Morro Rock. We did a little bead shopping in San Luis Obispo, picked up my GS and went to Morro Bay for an early dinner on the wharf. It's always a treat to
spend time with my GS. He goes to college in San Luis Obispo.

We had a leisurely drive back to Cambria and got back just in time to take this picture from in front of our motel. It was wonderful listening to the surf all night. We spent most of our time beading. I taught her how to do bead embroidery and to do peyote stitch around a cabochon. She caught on very quickly and had finished a bead embroidered cab pin/pendant by Saturday.

My project for the week was my November doll for Beaded Art Dolls. She is called Cranberry Crush. I was also able to get some work done on my October page for the Bead Journal Project. It is going well so far, and I will post it soon.

Double Tagged

Okay, I've been double tagged by AJ and Doris. Sorry, but you are only getting 7 of my deep dark secrets.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now to the facts about me:
1. I have an addictive personality. Not drugs or alcohol (waste of time and money), but for beads, fabric, and online friends.
2. I'm becoming a computer junkie.
3. My favorite color is purple, but earthtones are a close second.
4. I was a majorette for 5 years.
5. I enjoy writing poetry.
6. I get a sense of serenity by going to the coast or the mountains.
7. I like doing scenic photography.

The seven people I'd like to tag are:
1. Timaree
2. Monica
3. Kelly
4. Jackie
5. Liz
6. Aryd'ell
7. Karen

Have fun with this!

New Pin/Pendants

Beaded my little fingers off yesterday! Really made some productive use of my time for a change. These pin/pendants were made primarily for a challenge/swap on BeadDreamz on Yahoo. I love the flexibility of doing these. They are small enough to wear as a pin, but large enough to wear as a pendant. I put a finding on the back which will allow both. Like most of my bead embroidery, I never know exactly what it will look like when I'm finished with it. The top picture is called Desert Sun and the bottom one is called Earth. Not sure what the stone is on that one, but it reminded me of the earth from space, thus the name.



Plans are ongoing for my trip to the coast next week. We are staying for two nights so should have lots of beading time. The weather should be in the 60's; nice and crisp. Great walking weather. We plan to hit the boardwalk on Moonstone Beach for a walk. I may even get some pictures taken this trip. I'm taking several projects with me and I will be teaching my friend, Heidi, how to do bead embroidery. Should be lots of fun.


The first week in November is the BABE show(BayAreaBeadExtravaganza) in Oakland. I'm spending five days up there this year. Taking classes, shopping, visiting with friends, making new ones and just generally having a good time. Can't wait!

September Finished

Finally finished my September BJP page. Not much beading here, I know, but that's how September was for me. I had almost totally lost my muse. This page will be officially called "Lost Muse". Fortunately, I seem to have found her again. I think I was falling into bad habits. When you have all day to work on things, it's too easy to say "I'll do it later". After a while, that nasty little habit snowballed and I found myself either reading or playing on the computer. All day, every day. Not a good thing when you want to accomplish things.

Now, I do most of my computer work in the early mornings and won't let myself pick up a book until after 4 pm. At least this way, I get some beading done everyday. Still haven't figured out how to get myself to do house****. LOL

Took two marvelous classes from Liz Smith this past weekend. Her enthusiasm and energy was definitely contagious. We did her Twist and Swirl class on Saturday and her No Calorie Donut on Sunday. Both classes were fun and kept your interest throughout. Those are two projects which will be finished ASAP.

Swirling Leaves

This is my October doll for BAD. We have agreed to do a doll a month for the next year. Not too bad a deal until you mixed it with BJP and Beaddreamz various challenges as well. Oh well, it's only time and beads. LOL
In truth, I love having all the different projects going on at the same time. It keeps the creative juices flowing. I always did work better under a deadline. Not for me the ordered existence of doing one project at a time and finishing it before starting the next one. Now I just have to come up with some new classes for the LBS. Maybe I will do a class in doll pins. Hmmm. In January, I'm teaching a beaded brooch class for our Bead Society. That should be fun. We have some very talented ladies in our group.
Off to the County Fair tonite. Our Bead Society has a display in the Gem and Mineral Bldg. All of our pieces use gemstones of some kind. It looks really nice. Get to see Gretchen Wilson tonite. Sure hope it doesn't rain. The weather has done a 180 turnaround in the last 24 hours. It was up in the high 90's yesterday and today our high is supposed to be 70. Should be comfortable walking weather for ambling around the fairgrounds.