Bracelet finished :-)

I mounted the bracelet yesterday and managed to stir my febrile bones and get a pic of it today. Can't seem to shake this cold! All it is now is stuffy alternating with runny nose and achy bones, but it's beginning to frustrate me. I was hoping to get more done this week!
Ah well, I'm hitting the zinc and vitamin C and OJ and superfood.
On to planning for December's page!

Bracelet progress

Looks like I just might get the bracelet done. I'm home sick with a nasty little cold and don't have the energy to do much, so sitting around sewing this little bracelet to the blank should just about do it. Now WHY do I feel like it's cheating to just fill up the space with all these cool little lucite flowers and pretty cabs? I AM going to edge the whole thing with beads, but fairly large beads, I'm thinking of using some size 8/0's I got last year. Quite the departure for me, but, heck, I like the look.

This is my first post in November???

Where the heck, you might ask, have I been? Well, as some may know, November is National Novel Writing Month, and this is the second year I've participated. The deal is you make a goal to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days. It doesn't have to be good (one of the mottos is "December is for rewrites"), it doesn't even have to make sense, you just need to commit to write. My son, who has participated in this thing three times (while pulling a full load at a tough college), got me into it last year and I had fun with it. But this year I also had the BJP commitment and wasn't sure I'd be able to manage both. Well, I've made my 50,000 word goal, and even like my little novel so far, and I've finished my page. The page is in honor of the Mexican festival of the Day of the Dead which is traditionally celebrated on the first of November and even in some places for a week in November. I love the bright colors and flowers and symbolism of meeting up with our beloved dead for a bit, I think it's such a celebration of life. I used charlottes and various fancy beads for the skull itself, and then used vintage lucite flowers as the wreath surrounding the skull. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to get a bracelet done before the 30th and then I'll be quite proud. So far this month has been a blast!
cheers,
Sarah

Kwan Yin Bracelet

Today I mounted the Kwan Yin beadwork onto a bracelet blank, and I'm very pleased with the outcome. I think this is my favorite bracelet yet. Now to start my planning for November!

October Finished!

It's all done but the mounting. I love the way the page turned out this month, it helped me immensely, and the bracelet! The picture, I think, doesn't really do it justice, but it's my favorite so far. I can't wait to get it mounted on a brass blank and wear it. It's a small Kwan Yin cab surrounded by shell heishi and different sizes of beads. I really feel I've moved out of my normal comfort zone (embroidering with almost all same sized beads), and found a new method of expression.

October Progress

Well, my page for October is coming along nicely, and I expect to be done in a couple of days, then I can concentrate on my bracelet. I work with the hectic and toxic American health care system and am increasingly uncomfortable with the lack of healing in that environment. I've found that images of ancient shamans attract me, and help me center myself more. This shaman was originally found as a cave painting in France, and is called The Trois Freres Shaman. This is my beadwork interpretation of him. I've beaded him once before, on leather pouch for a doctor friend, and I always wanted a depiction of him for myself. I'm pleased with the way he's turning out, and also used some new techniques for using sequins that I learned from Mary Tafoya at a recent bead retreat (she was kind enough to gift me with the shell 'sequins' that I used as the ground under the shaman's feet).

Bead Retreat

I spent last weekend at a bead retreat. It's almost impossible to express how much fun I had and how much I learned. This year we learned how to make a kalaidescope cane with polymer clay (mine didn't turn out too well, but I get the idea). Another participant taught us a nice tubular herringbone stitch utilizing different sized beads that ends up in a lovely supple tube. I've been playing around with it today and also made a pair of dangle earrings along the same lines. A third participant taught us different methods of using sequins. All in all it was a great weekend and I feel so refreshed and inspired.