The Eyeball story for Denise

Well last year an online friend (who is also a beader, fancy that!) sent me a box of goodies for my birthday, just because.. So this year I repaid the compliment & now it's a snowball because she sent me another box this year as well & the eye ball is from that.

Kelly tells me that she felted it then realized it would fit perfectly in a walnut shell & volia, a pin cushion or a needle cushion in this case, because that's what I use it for...


Kelly has included carefully chosen beads in size 8, 11 & 15 so that I can bead the beanie bear, as well as several faces & other interesting bits & pieces. The beautiful purple button on Nancy is from this package too..

Denise don't you LOVE those orange leaves in the front of the picture, oh & isn't that green & white doll magnificent! She took my breath away when I first saw her...

Thank you Kelly, I hope we get to meet in person some day!!

Denise's Dare

Denise dared me to show my beading table, so here it is... I use a TV tray with vellux as my mat - mine is from 'Beading at the Beach' Denise, is yours?

So here is a pic taken today with Nancy smiling as she awaits more beads, did I tell you that purple has always been Nancy's favorite colour? Well it is..

As you can see the tray is upside down, I sit where Nancy's head points.. There are Ott-lites both sides of where I sit & my Bead Nest (as Joe calls it) is on my left & there is low table on my right both full of beads so once I am sitting down I don't have to move, it is all at my fingertips..

I can't explain the tiny 8 ball on my tray, it's something Joe put there, as is the map of New Zealand which he cut out to show me how it didn't fit into California twice as I'd told him.. I pointed out that the maps were 2 different sizes LOL so of course I went to Google to find out for sure & YES I was right.. Don't you love it when you're right!!!

September BJP

OK this is it, no really, I mean it...

My theme this year is 'The Women in my life' & starting out for September is my oldest sister Nancy, who turned 66 this month.. Happy Birthday Nancy dear!

Nancy is now the matriarch of our family as we lost our dear Mother last December



I used the freezer paper method to transfer Nancy to plain white fabric & treated it so that the ink would never smudge (at least I sure hope it won't) I learnt a few things in the process - don't we always - Like fiddling with the contrast to make the picture darker so that you can actually see it when it is printed out LOL

My pages are 'dolls' that are 6" tall & fit into a milk bottle lid, which will be weighted before the doll is glued into it. I plan to use the Women in my family, including my dear Mother & a few special friends to make my 12 doll pages

This is my progress so far....

I have to tell you that when I told Joe (dh) that I was going to paint the milk bottle lid black, he informed me that it is not possible as the paint wouldn't stick.. Well telling me that something won't work is like a dare, so I Mod Podged the edge of the lid & then painted it & guess what? It worked LOL

Take #1

Well my first idea for my pages failed miserably LOL & here I was thinking I had it all planned ha ha haaa

So it's kinda back to the drawing board for me & on with the thinking cap again

Wish me luck...

Take #1

Sea Shells

Final page for the 2007 -2008 BJP

This one took some doing, as I posted earlier I had done a Paua shell planning to use it for the month of May BUT it was too big for the frames I have, so it was back to the drawing board.

I had a block as far as what to do for my last page & with it being summer I ended up spending lots of time in the garden & avoided my beading table because of my lack of ideas - yeah don't ya hate these empty spaces when it comes to beading ideas LOL

I did all kinds of things to avoid beading, even cleaning up my craft room, which looked like a tornado had hit it & in doing so, I found some delightful fabric I had got while down in New Zealand earlier this year. It featured a Paua shell along with a Mussel & a Kina or Sea Urchin & another shell in colour with the rest of the shells in sepia colours. I embroidered the 4 coloured shells & this is the result

I have to say it is not my favorite of this series but hey I still think it rocks so that's what counts, right?

I still don't know why my pictures won't open to full size but you can check out a larger picture here

Mother & Dad

I just got a birthday gift to out do all gifts. Tucked into my birthday card from my sister Isabell was a photo of Mother & Dad dancing, taken back in 1967.

They both look so happy, it made me cry when I saw the picture..

I miss you both more than words can say & I hope you are dancing together again now..