As the old year is fading out, I have managed to stay busy beading. The first picture is a pin/pendant I made with a polymer clay face. I love the colors. The second picture is also a pin/pendant of a fossilized stone. It is unusual for me to work in this colorway, but it was a challenge I set for myself.
I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as I did. Our family gets together on Christmas Eve to visit and open packages. I received many of the things I had asked Santa for. I am a big Il Divo fan and received their new CD. I also received an 8GB flash drive for my laptop. More than the gifts I received, I was able to spend some quality time with my grandsons. As they get older, it's harder to catch them all in one place. They are 10, 15, and 19 now. Such handsome boys. Of course that could just be Grandma talking, but I don't think so.
I have been thinking a lot about what I want from this coming year. As an ex-military wife, I wish for peace all over the world, so our men and women can safely return home to their families. They sacrifice so much to keep us safe.
I wish for good health for my family and friends. Too many of them have serious health problems. I complain about my little aches and pains, but I have to remind myself, there are many with much more serious things happening in their lives.
I wish for many beads and projects for my beady friends. I know the joy I get from beading and I wish that same joy for all of you.
May the New Year find you all happy and healthy. 
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, I wish you all a happy holiday season. I count my many blessings regularly, but especially so this holy time of year. I have a wonderful extended family and my three grandsons are the joy of my life. They are 19, 15, and 10 now and growing up way too fast to suit Grandma. It is a pleasure to watch them grow and develop their own separate personalities. I'm very proud of all three.Fortunate woman that I am, I have my beady family also. There is a group of about a dozen of us that hang out and teach at our LBS. They have become my sisters in truth. We laugh and cry together, bead together and travel together. How blessed I am to have these women in my life.Lest I forget, I also have my online friends. It is a treat to exchange ideas and patterns with this knowledgeable group of beaders and crafters. Merry Christmas to all of you.Arline
This is a picture of my December doll for Beaded Art Dolls Calendar Challenge. Her name is Christmas Starr. She is the fourth in a series of twelve dolls I am making for the challenge.
I have continued to bead daily for the past two weeks. I borrowed my friend Lynn's NCIS DVDs for the first four seasons. I put those on and had a veritable orgy of NCIS and beading. LOL I have made over twenty pin/pendants in that time. Most of them are going for Christmas gifts, but some I am keeping for myself. I really enjoy threading a chain through them to wear as pendants. Next, I am going to do much the same with stone donuts.
I am a bit behind in the BJP right now, but I will catch up when the mood strikes me. Right now, all I want to do are the pendants. Soooo.... 
