Sunday, January 20, 2008

Noverber BJP finshed at last

OK, so I really am running late but here it is with progress shots to show you how I did it

The Mermaid made with PC, hand painted & from a mold I made some time back, I bezzeled around her like you would a cab
As you can see, the yarn is being transformed into sea grass with the addition of beads
Now the fun part begins - embellishing!!
So, the little orange bit is going to be a fish..
But he is not what I wanted so back to the drawing board I go..
The final fish, I am much happier with this wee guy, he's done in peyote stitch
And so it is finished, it was hard to know when it was done, I could have kept going with this one for at least another week but you have to stop somewhere, right?

For some reason I cannot get the last two pictures to enlarge, so here are close ups - I hope you can see the detail clearly in them


Saturday, January 19, 2008

2008 - A new beginning...

This year has started out with my sisters & I saying goodbye to our dear Mother, , who passed away in her sleep on the morning of 31st December 2007.
Mother was just 4 months short of her 91st birthday, she had lived a long & happy life & had accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord & Saviour, which has made accepting her loss much easier for me. Still, her going has left a hole in my life & that of all who knew & loved my dear Mother.

Eva Isabell Tucker (Dolly) 1st April 1917 - 31st Dec 2007

Silly Women that we were, we forgot to get a photo of us all together before my sister Colleen returned home to Nelson, after Mum's funeral. So, I have 2 photos of my sisters & I to share with you..Isabell, Colleen, Nancy Ellen

Isabell, Nancy, Ellen, Anne

I flew out of Portland Oregon on Dec 31st (remember we in the US are a day behind NZ) & 'WOOSH' flew right thru Jan 1st, arriving at 5 AM on Jan 2nd in Auckland, where my son Stephen was waiting for me.
So, I missed New Year's Day totally but that's OK, & despite the heartbreaking reason for my trip, I enjoyed being with my family & spending some quality time with my sisters, in New Zealand's warm, summer weather.

My sons Garry & Stephen with me

I arrived back home Tuesday, 15th Jan & although it is cold & wet here, I'm mostly glad to be back -part of me wanted to stay down home in NZ.

I am trying to finish the BJP page I started in November & here is my progress so far..

Time has not been my friend with this project at all, maybe I started with my pages too big but I am going to try & finish them all by June
Of course I can never do just one thing at once & am also taking part in a Beaded Mask Challenge, organized by Heather & Debra from The Beadin' Path http://www.beadinpath.com/content/blogcategory/15/13/

I got the felt attached to the mask itself before my trip to NZ, so now I need to get some beads on it






I first wet the felt, then stretched it over the mask to mold it to the shape of the mask. Once it had dried, I used a fabric adhesive to glue the felt to the mask, which left it flexible enough to stitch through.