Collector's Bracelet...

I finished this bracelet tonight using a two needle weave technique. (It will be taught at Bead Haven in March.) All the buttons are very intricate and showcased with Czech Firepolish beads and Japanese seed beads. Click on the photo to see some very rare antique buttons...

Here is another bracelet that I created using some vintage and antique buttons from my mother's vast button collection. I will be teaching this technique at Bead Haven in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 4th 5:30-7:30pm. It will be offered again at the store on March 31st from 5:30-7:30 pm. This is a great way to "showcase" cool buttons and/or beads we have collected that are often very special to us! Create something totally unique and "one-of-a-kind"!

Beaded Beads...

Here are some cheerful "beaded beads."
They are made with Czech and Japanese seed beads. The bicone shape beads were constructed with the Ndebele (Herringbone) stitch and the others were made with Spiky fringe technique.

Need I say more?

Doctor In The House!!

My son, Matthew, graduated with his "Doctor of Physical Therapy" from the University of Iowa this December!!...am I proud or what! The next pic is of Matt and Sara after graduation. Aren't they cute?...The 3rd pic is of Matt's class...30+ Doctors of Physical Therapy here newly graduated! And the last one is Matt and myself after graduation. No one could ever love a son and believe in him more deeply than I love and believe in Matt. I am so proud to be his mom...

"Iowa on Ice"

Ice, ice, baby...

Here are some pictures I took at the Devonian Fossil Gorge, near Iowa City. The Gorge is the result of the overflow of Coralville Reservoir Spillway between July 5 and and August 2, 1993.

This area is just south of the Coralville Dam, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is the product of the '93 flood, during which the water level behind the dam rose to over 4.5 feet above the crest of the spillway and poured over in a torrent, tearing away vegetation, pavement, topsoil, sediment, and loosely cemented bedrock from the area downhill from the paved spillway apron and even tearing into the solid limestone bedrock in some places. For 28 days as much as 17,000 cubic feet of water per second flowed down the Spillway. Fifteen feet of unconsolidated river-bottom silt and sand were rapidly eroded, exposing the Middle Devonian Cedar Valley Group limestones below. Up to 5 feet of limestone was then eroded near the end of the Spillway, and blocks weighing as much as two or three tons where carried hundreds of feet downstream. When the flood abated, the eroded Gorge surface revealed a succession of 375 million year old bedding planes with diverse and abundant fossils commonly standing out in relief.

The fossils are amazing...

If you click on these pictures you can explore by zooming-in and seeing even more Devonian fossils! Make sure you zoom-in on the one at the very top of this post, also! The area really is a window into Iowa's geologic past. (Hard to believe that Iowa once was covered by warm, shallow seas similar to the Caribbean Sea today.) I really enjoyed walking around the area, taking it all in, and thinking about what has past here before...

This is one of the very first books that was recommended to me when I started beadweaving in the 90's. Back to Beadin' was written by Barbara Elbe. What great things she does with Delica beads! Visit her website: http://www.beadedimages.com/

It was the start of many bead books that would intrigue me... I am going to feature some of my favorite books in the next coming week. What are your favorites?

Weekend!

It is snowing tonight. I took a picture of these pine trees laden with heavy snow. Beautiful...

I hope to get more pictures tomorrow in the Thanksgiving Daylight!

It's starting to snow this afternoon...

These turkeys are

safe,

so is the deer!

Looking for turkeys...

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

On this day in 1928 Mickey Mouse appears in Steamboat Willie, an animated short produced by Walt Disney. It was the first fully synchronized sound cartoon ever produced, with Mickey's squeaky voice provided by Walt Disney himself.

Luka's coming home tonight! We've been waiting for you! ER - NBC 9 o'clock!

Heavy frost this morning!

Can winter be far off?

(Look familiar?

See Feb. 12, 2007 posting.)

11-11-07

Praise & thank you to all our veterans this day and always.

My handsome son, Matthew, is now in Colorado for the third and final internship. His first clinical was in Portland, Oregon at the Shriner's Hospital. The second one was in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Presently, he is living in Avon and commuting to Vail where he is working at Howard Head Sports Medicine. I think he is going snowboarding this weekend--hope he sends some pics!!

Matt is in his last clinical internship here at Howard Head Sports Medicine in Vail, Colorado.

Friday-It's a Wrap...

I just finished this wire-wrapped cuff. It's made up of pearls, sponge coral, and assorted glass beads.

Luka, Luka, Luka....when, oh when, will you be back? We miss you. ER is tonight. The episode is called "BLACKOUT" and I will be taping it again. I taped last week's episode and then, unfortunately, taped over it!! Did you know that ER is the most Emmy nominated show in history? Well, it is.

I made this bracelet using some "colors of Autumn" and the even-count flat peyote stitch. Zoom-in by clicking on the photo... Talking of Autumn - feels more like winter is coming on! There were even a few flakes of snow a couple of evenings ago...

"To do is to be." -Socrates
"To be is to do." -Sartre
"Do be do be do." -Sinatra

This Saturday, while at Bead Haven's Trunk Show, I took a picture of Sue's beautiful "Beadazzled" bracelet. Sue did such a fantastic job with this beautiful Two-Drop Peyote stitch!

Daylight Savings time ends...
Hello again to Standard time.
Did you set your clock back one hour?

This weekend was the Trunk show at Cindi's store--Bead Haven.
It was fantastic seeing so many people ogling over beads and sharing ideas with one another! What a wonderful crowd of many talented individuals...

I took this picture this afternoon from a distance. If you click on the photo, to make it larger, you will can clearly count 16 huge wild turkey and a lone deer posing for me! Beautiful...

I am using size 11 triangles in this flat herringbone stitch. The triangles beads give an interesting "lizard like" texture. I will be demonstrating a variety of beading stitches this Saturday Nov. 3 at Bead Haven in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Bead Haven will be holding an Autumn Trunk Show with all kinds of fun things going on. Go to Bead Haven Beads under "Some Of My Favorites" (listed under the right hand column of this page) for more information.

Trivia Thursday...

Did you know that in Las Vegas, it's against the law to pawn your dentures? (No, I don't know that from experience.)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Hope you have a great day.

Do you like my costume? If you do-

click on my oh-so-delicate feet...

We took a little ride towards evening. As we headed toward Solon, I tried to capture the beautiful sky on my camera. "Red sky at night-sailor's delight; red sky in the morning-fisherman's warning."

Here's a cutie we saw along the way... She insisted on having her picture taken!

These are "beaded beads" that I made today. They are big beads that are composed of small seed beads that are stitched together. The bicone-shaped beads are made from the tubular herringbone stitch. The spiky ones are made by a series of fringe stitches.

One more day...

One day left till Halloween. Do you have your costume selected? Better get with it if you don't--time's a wasting!

I've been working on some more "beaded Beads" today. I made some "spiky" beaded beads too. I'll post them soon.

Two more days...

These are "beaded beads" I made with the tubular herringbone stitch. The "beads" are composed of Czech glass beads in the middle of the design, Japanese Miyuki seed beads, and again my favorite opaque stripe Czech seed beads.

This was a difficult one to photograph! It is a Beadazzled Bracelet that I made with 22k white gold electroplate lavender teal rose iris. Yep, that's what the color is called of the size 11 Toho seed beads used in the bracelet. Time for bed...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It's the weekend! Have you picked out the perfect pumpkin yet? Halloween is only four days away! Click on your "favorite" pumpkin from the above three...

A Friday Finish...

I finally finished the peyote bracelet I work on whenever I get a few minutes.

The main body is done with size 11 Delica beads and the picot edging is done with size 15 rounds. I really like working with the delica beads-they "snap" together so nicely. It is one of my favorite stitches, at least it is today. I like how the colors shine together in this bracelet. Click on the pics if you'd like to see it up close...