What If....

I just could not think of what I wanted to do next, so I took the advice I've heard many times before - just start somewhere! I took the linen and basted it to some pellon for a firm base, then crocheted a little freeform piece in colors I just love...tried and failed to felt it but decided to sew it down anyway around a little bone lizard bead...there are both shiny and matt glass drops holding the wool down.

Baffled

I'm a bit baffled about this ceramic chicken vessel/bead I got a Shipwreck beads on our way home....it has a hole that is plugged up at one end (and was supposed to be used to put a bit of cotton with essential oil in it) but that plugs up the hole you'd have to hang the bead with? So are these just little vessels not meant to be hung? But then why the hole that's only plugged on one end? I don't know if I'm missing the point or if the folks who made it were a little unclear on the concept, lol!

Marketing

Marketing or selling my work has never been my strong point but I am trying to learn how to be more effective, especially in such a tough time economically speaking.
I've had these pins in my etsy store for a while and I'm wondering if they would do better if they could be displayed on a shelf or hung when they weren't being worn...any opinions would be appreciated and I guarantee no salesmen/women will knock on your door or invade your computers, lol!
I also sat out on the sun porch this afternoon and did the first bit of beading I've done in almost a week! It felt good.

Home!

We're back home and very glad to be here! It was a great trip and we had some wonderful visits with family and old friends but I always feel like dorothy in the wizard of oz ...there's no place like home! And when we come over the last hill into town and see the pacific and then our lovely bay bridge...well, it just gladdens the heart!
I did take some photos while we were gone but didn't pick up a needle a one, which is almost a first for me...I took both beadwork and stitching to do, but just did not get to it. So following jude's lead, I'm just taking it easy...doing a bit of meditation...doing photos for my CED's and trusting that the path will open in front of me when I'm ready to walk along it.
Here's a photo of the road leading to the Alaska ferry docks in Fairhaven (Bellingham) Washington...I went to college in b'ham but it's been about 12-13 years since my last visit, so the town has changed a lot...for the better, I think....but it doesn't feel like "home" anymore.
Still, it was a beautiful day and we had a great visit with an old friend...one of the major upsides to getting older is having friends you've known for 40 years or more!
I was delighted to see the huge number of visitors to the blog for the OWOH giveway and have decided to add another piece if the numbers go over 200 by the 12th...something definitely valentine related...

Gone

I'm off to visit my mom for a few days and there's no wifi at her house so probably won't be posting until I return....be good and don't mess the house up too much while I'm gone, eh?
(I'm hoping to bring back a couple of more give-a-ways for the OWOH, but am making no promises, lol!)

CED Today

Today was probably our last sunny day for a while so I spent it outside, but did manage to get a tiny bit of beading done...

Oh Happy Day

I've been up since 6 this morning and just can't stop smiling...it feels like we have another chance to make this country the one we dreamed of 40 or more years ago....and one we can be proud of again.

OWOH

One World, One Heart giveaway....just joined in this morning but I love the whole concept of getting to know your blogging neighbors and a nice little item given away to a lucky visitor. You're not required to join in the OWOH giveaway to win, but you must have a blog of your own since this is all about getting to meet bloggers who are new to you.

If you'd like more info, just click the OWOH icon on the sidebar...I put it at the top so you can find it easily, lol!

My giveaway will be one of my pin/pendant beaded faces...this little wistfull guy is done in a combination aqua/turquoise with a bit of gold thrown in for the crows among us who like sparkle!

The drawing ends promptly at midnight (Eastern time) on February 11. I'll disable comments at that time and notify the winners on February 12 via email - so make sure I can contact you through your blog. I will post the names of the winners on Thursday, February 12.

So, I'd love to hear from you! And once you''ve left a comment here, go click on the One World One Heart logo and you will be taken to the blog with a list of all participants (to date) and their links - see what else is being offered up for the event and all the cool bloggers just waiting to be met. You might just make a few new friends!

Sumi deux

Had some dear friends visiting this afternoon...so my CED for today is a photo I took of sumi and then used a photoshop filter on it...so the photo was un and the filtered one is deux....plus, one of my nicknames for sumi is sumi doos...
I think I've finally got a hint of what to do for the january bjp...sure hope so!

More Blues

Just a photo today....sunshine on the bay...I've always loved photos of sunshine sparkling on the water....

Blues and Velvet

I did manage a few stitches today but most of the afternoon I spent walking around the bay and taking photos up the bay road...this is the kind of weather we often get in february...not so often in january, so I had to take advantage of it.

Velvet and Ribbon

Someone had sent me some ribbon yarn and I couldn't find it locally so I checked ebay and found it had been discontinued by the manufacturer but could be found on ebay so I bought a couple of balls...if I was going to use it for anything other than embellishment, I would have bought more, but using it as I will be, two balls will probably last me forever...
I also started a small applique...a velvet cat on some linen or linen-like fabric I bought as remnants...I think the cat will be fun once I get her lines and eyes in.

DoD Altar

More beads added to the altar...

Another Go

I've got this velvet and a tan cotton weave for background with some MOP buttons and FW pearls...tomorrow I'll start playing with it...
And I watched a wonderful DVD tonight, The Cats of Mitikani...I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a little artistic inspiration.

Assemblage and Altar

A dear friend gifted me with some type and ad. blocks from her family's collection and I've been looking for a type drawer ever since...yesterday I found one and got to spend a very happy afternoon arranging type and illustration blocks in the drawer. This will also give me easy access so I can start using some of them in my fiber work.
I'm also working on a Day of the Dead Altar (yeah, I know I'm either late or very early) for our friend darrell. I've also got a reliquary I'll be putting in it that will contain some of darrell's ashes and the 7 treasures of Buddhism. The list of 7 seems to vary depending on translations but the ones I have are on most of the lists...gold, silver, amber, coral, pearl, lapis lazuli and garnet...
So far I have the altar mostly covered with a soft gold metallic paper and I have a framed photo of darrell, a small buddha statue, abalone disk and the reliquary. I'm going to be adding some fine ribbon to the unfinished edges and a beaded curtain and a small skeleton and/or skull milagro. We've set the date for scattering his ashes next month and I want it to be finished by then.

CED Sunday

I was fixing my first cup of coffee this morning and I looked out the kitchen window and saw this lovely spider's web on our elderberry bush/tree...and I find it a hoot that we have an elder-berry bush in our park which is limited to those who are 55+.
Anyway....I didn't think the photo would work given that it's such a grey morning but I gave it a shot (or 3) and got one that I liked...so I took it into photoshop and played with it a bit...
Not even 8am and I've already done my first CA (creative act, lol) of the day!

Blogroll

I will probably also be stitching but my official CED for today is finally getting my blogroll onto my blog! If I used bloggers own utility it would have been easy, but I've been using bloglines for a long time and have around 150 blogs on it, so I didn't want to have to redo each one in blogger...sooooo, it's taken a while. Also, about half of them are in alphabetical order and after Zquilts they're not...so you're on your own...when you've got a few days to spare you can check them all out, or just do one or two a day...up to you, lol!

(and yes, I had to reverse the template to get it to load in the right place...)

Creative Gathering and Sorting

So today my creative activity consisted of taking some fiber and fabric a friend gave me when sorting through her stash and untangling all the yarns and sorting through the bits of fabric....this is just the sort of thing I would have tossed before I saw the kind of work Jude is doing at her blog, Spirit Cloth. Now I can see all sorts of ways to use the bits of fabric and yarn. One of my small goals this year is to do more and more improvisational work since that's such a challenge for me. I can plan things out and create them, but to just start and work randomly, now that's hard (but oh so much fun)!

CyberFyber

The CyberFyber show opens today and Susan has outdone herself with a video tour of the gallery. Working in a gallery, I know how much work it is to just hang a show with so many pieces in it and then to add a video as well is just an added bonus. And when I think of all the work susan put into the show in the early stages...making all the postcards and ATC's to trade and then doing the actual trading and mailing and posting....WHEW...that gal is one hard worker!
I hope you all take a moment to check the show out (and maybe leave a comment?) and if there's any chance to make an actual visit, it would sure be worth it!

Back to Slooooowwww....

Several hours later and many hours to go...

More Beginnings

I've started two new pieces...the background for january's bjp and a right-angle weave cover I'm doing in black and silver for a round brushed metal container with a glass top....I'm making this for my son who has a collection of my favorite beaded containers...

On the other hand...

I realized this morning that the no-posting ban only held for those folks who were donating their postcards to the fiberarts for a cause auction and as I'm sending mine to a young 9-year old boy in wisconsin with brain cancer (who is collecting postcards), I guess it's okay to post it.
If anyone else would like to send him a postcard, here's a link to his story and the address to send the postcards to. His name is Connor Bourke.

No Photo

I made a postcard today for an E.A. Poe challenge but we've been asked not to post photos on our blogs, so I'll keep the photo and post it later...it's my CED for today.

Done for now

The only thing really left to do is stitching along the strap to flatten it and I'll leave that for another time...I wore it today but had to leave the reception early since the fragrance in the room (despite signs asking people not to wear any in the building) made my DH ill so we had to come home. After 20 years of this, I'm mostly used to it, but today it brought home to me that my husband needs to retire from working in places where he can't control the environment. It seems to me in the last couple of years his response to an exposure is getting worse....the effect on him is worse and he's beginning to become angry when he's exposed, which has not always been the case, so I think the effect it's having on his brain chemistry is getting worse too. I know that complete isolation isn't an option for him, but I do think we can work harder at finding work for him in places where he can control the environment...and that just won't be in any building open to the public, so that lets out the visual arts center.

Poe's Raven

I've signed up to do a postcard with the theme of E.A. Poe's raven so I've been sketching some roughs from photos...all I need is an outline, so we'll see if any of these look good in fabric.

Joie de vivre

There seems to be a trend on some of the blogs I read regularly for people to choose a word or concept to use as a theme for this coming year...nina bagley' s is nascent, jude hill's new piece for the year is coma and leah kolidas of CED has chosen play for this month's theme....
I don't think I can choose just one word for a whole year so I think I'll go with the concept of joie de vivre and see how far into the year it takes me...I know I've had about all the heavy stuff I can deal with for a while and I need to turn to the lighter, more joyous side of life for a time. I'm going for "an exultation of spirit"...

Bag

I've gotten some more done on the bag....the sides are sewn and the shoulder strap is pinned on but not sewn yet...decided to use the same fabric as someone suggested...now I'm looking for buttons in my button collection...I think I'll be able to finish it tomorrow though since I'm hoping to use it on sunday for an art reception.

Happy New Year!

I want to thank everyone who has stopped by during the year and (especially the gals from the BJP who drop by regularly) and wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year! It's been such a pleasure to post in the blog and then see what you all have to say about the posts...I know if I was just posting for myself, I'd be posting a lot less, but you all make it so rewarding to do this on a regular basis.
And since I've committed to being Creative Every Day (which will be known by CED from here on in), I'll be posting even more regularly...life and the weather permitting!
And for today's CED, I've sewn the stitched piece onto the purse and lined it....I'm saving the finish for tomorrow, as I'm still unsure about the strap. It isn't a very large purse, about 8x11, I think, but it will give me a nice one to wear to art openings and I'm sure I'll get lots of feedback there!