Monthly Archives: November 2012

Nov30

Here I am, late for the party as usual!

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Here I am, late for the party as usual!
Here I am, late for the party as usual!

I signed up for TesoriTrovati’s (Erin Prais-Hintz) bead challenge at the first of the month, and after being given two palettes to choose from, I decided on the “Meandering Mississippi:”

Here is my creation:
I began by shopping my stash to see what matched:

My daughter had given me this beautiful focal bead to recycle, and I thought it looked “mapish,” not to mention being a dead ringer for the palette> I chose antique copper findings because of the rust color in the palette:

I set out to make a Bohemian “chain” for the bead using seed beads and ribbons I had on hand.

But after a lot of work, I met with technical difficulties, and abandoned that idea. Yesterday, after leaving my grandson at nursery school, I made a dash for the nearby Michaels. (We don’t have one in my hometown.) There was a copper chain that I had admired previously, and luckily, there were two strands left! I liked the “global” look of the links, and thought it went well with the “Earth as Art” theme.

I used copper jump rings and the simplest, round toggle from my stash to complete the chain. After much debate, I hung the focal bead from the center “globe” of the chain. It looked like it would be wonky, but I’m wearing it right now, and it hangs just fine:

I’ve not given up completely on that other necklace idea, but for now, I’m very pleased with my creation!
I’ll wear it to town, later!

Link’s to other challenge participants can be found on Erin’s blog, if these links don’t work:

Erin Prais-Hintz http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color-reveal.html Rebecca Anderson http://songbeads.blogspot.com Kris Auderer http://strandedinthecity.wordpress.com Chrizette Bayman http://beadsoupmix.blogspot.com Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/ Lynsey Brooks http://yellowunicorncreations.blogspot.co.uk Stephanie Buss http://maxandlucie.blogspot.com Iveth Caruso http://www.creativeatelier.net/ Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com Lisa Cone http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/ Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com Lori Dorrington http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com Jeannie Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/ Kim Dworak http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/ Beth Emery http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com Pam Farren http://www.re-maker.blogspot.com Donetta Farrington http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com Gloria Ferrer http://judetaama.blogspot.com.es/ Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.co Therese Frank http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com Patty Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html Ambra Gostoli http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/3rd-challenge-of-color Jess Green http://tabbiekoshka.blogspot.co.uk/ Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com Mary Harding www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com Karla Hartzog https://karlakrafts.com (That’s me! What fine company I find myself in!) Kim Hora http://www.kimmykats.com Brandi Hussey http://brandigirlblog.com Emanda Johnson http://ArtemisiaStudio.blogspot.com Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/ Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com Ema Kilroy http://emakaye.blogspot.com Lee Koopman http://Stregajewellry.wordpress.com Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com Kirsi Luostarinen http://kirsiluokorut.blogspot.com Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/ Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca Beth McCord http://www.ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com Mary K McGraw http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/ Karen Mitchell http://www.overthemoon-design.com Cheri Mitchell-Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/ Aimee Moisa http://threecatsdancing.blogspot.com Karla Morgan http://www.texaspepperjams.blogspot.com Penny Neville http://copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com Kayla Potega http://www.teejewelry.blogspot.com Debbie Price http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com Caron Reid http://caronmichelle.blogspot.com.au/ Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog Cynthia Riggs http://cynthsblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html Andrea Ross http://silvermapledesigns.blogspot.com/ Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com Annie Scherz http://www.studioluma.ca Pam Sears http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/ Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com Sandra Stein http://sannipanni.wordpress.com Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com (had to bow out due to a wrist injury) Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/2012/11/challenge-of-color-reveal.html Lola Survillo http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com Kay Thomerson http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com Jo Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.com Cory Tompkins http://www.tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com Pam Traub http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com Michelle Tucker http://michellescreativemusings.blogspot.com/ Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com Monique Urquhart http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/ Rachel Van-Walsk http://balancedcrafts.com/blog Patti Vanderbloemen http://www.myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com Lesley Watt http://thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com Lynn White http://lynnwhitejewelry.com/Lynn_White_Jewelry/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog.html Joan Williams http://www.lilrubyjewelry.com
Nov30

This may be it!

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This may be it!
This may be it!
This is as far as I got with my bead challenge before things fell apart, literally. I need to research ways to secure multiple strands of seed beads in one fastener. Crimping did not work. If I don’t get my necklace reworked tonight, this will be my post for tomorrow’s blog hop.

As you can see, I chose the, “Meandering Mississippi” palette:

Nov26

Modified Instant Russian Tea Recipe

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Modified Instant Russian Tea Recipe
Modified Instant Russian Tea Recipe

The old, “passed-around,” instant Russian tea mix recipe called for a cup of sugar in addition to two cups of Tang instant drink mix. The main ingredient in Tang IS sugar. So, here is my modified recipe:

Instant Russian Tea Mix:

2 cups Tang instant drink mix
1/2 cup instant tea (no sugar!)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

That’s it! Put it in a jar, and shake it up! Add 2 teaspoons of the mix to a mug of hot water. Stir and enjoy! (I have tried other orange drink mixes besides Tang. They just weren’t as good.)

Nov23

Clear Command Hooks for Suncatchers!

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Clear Command Hooks for Suncatchers!
Clear Command Hooks for Suncatchers!
It’s like they read my mind! I am so tired of the suction cups that hold my suncatchers falling off the windows when the temperature changes. I knew the 3M Company made clear hooks, but I was wishing they made them with clear adhesive strips. Well, I found them (at Lowes Home Improvement and Michaels!)

They work great! Be aware, though, that the hooks may have a larger circumference than the hanging loop on your suncatchers. I solved that with the addition of a key ring sized jump ring:

Here’s one in the package:

‘Hard to see, aren’t they? Exactly!!!!
Nov21

Still Uncertain

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Still Uncertain
I still can’t make up my mind on which color palette to choose in Erin’s color challenge. My daughter gave me this focal bead to recycle, and it’s a perfect match for the Meandering Mississippi  palette:
Still, I like these sodalite and bone beads together:
I think they match the other palette very well. I may just choose to do both!
Nov17

Fairy Lights

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Fairy Lights
Fairy Lights

I want my craft room (studio!) to be an inviting, enchanted space. So, inspired by these:

(They are by Mallory Jane of Hayseed Homemakin’. I found them on Pinterest.)

I bought a string of 100 white lights with white wires and these rolls of trim:

I strung the lights along the handrail in the stairwell that leads to my room. I cut short, 5-6″ lengths of the sparkly pink organza ribbon and tied them around each light bulb:

I cut the rosettes apart on the other trim, poked a hole in the middle of each one, and slid them over the tiny light bulbs:

I compared to see which I like better. The pink organza ribbon won hands down, though I do think the little white rosettes would be cute for a wedding.

Now, I only have 94 more to cut and tie!

Nov16

Playing with “Paint”

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Playing with “Paint”
Playing with “Paint”
Here’s another nifty item I ordered:

It’s a CD of Victorian Religious Images, and it is lovely. It’s from Lunagirl and can be found, along with other image collections, on etsy.

I love Brandi Hussey’s use of photoshop to pull a palette from a photograph. She has a tutorial on her blog, but my Photoshop software came preloaded on my old Gateway desktop, and when the hard drive died, so did the Photoshop.

I’d used the eyedropper tool in “PAINT” before, so I set out to see if I could use it to “pull a palette.” Before I selected “Open with Paint” from the right hand menu, I made a copy of the image for editing. I enhanced the colors, also, by using the photo editing software on my laptop to increase the saturation of the colors:


Then I used the rectangle, eyedropper, and fill bucket tools to “pull a palette:”

It’s not nearly as professional looking as Brandi’s, but I was just playing, anyway.
Some of the cross images from my Lunagirl disc show ribbons that, to me, are in need of words:

I used the text tool (A) from Paint to add “Holy Bible” to this one:

I am pretty pleased with my “PAINT” play, today!