Today (March 30) is "Grass Is Always Browner on the Other Side of the Fence Day", a time to honor those who did not jump ship, did not quit, did not leave because things appeared to look better somewhere else.

Springtime Surprise in Cedar Rapids, Iowa! This is a photo of the patio table on my deck this Sunday afternoon...and to think we had 70 degree weather last week!

Several inches of snow fell over Eastern Iowa overnight, but with temperatures reaching the mid-to-high 30s Sunday, the snow won't stick around for long. Below is a confused Robin hopping around in the snow at Jones Park today...

Springtime this week in Fosston, Minnesota!

Here is a bracelet I recently made for my sister. It is a Sidewinder bracelet made with brown and pink-gold luster Czech beads.

Today is "National Puppy Day", an unofficial holiday designed to encourage the adoption of 10,000 puppies...

Wishing you a nice Sunday.

Today I made several things. Below are the last two projects. The first is a strung bracelet featuring a large lampwork bead from Melissa Rediger's Sea of Glass. Czech glass donut beads slide on a sterling silver noodle bead for a bit of added movement to the bracelet. Below is a small "Zipper Swirl" pin that is bead embroidered. It features many different kinds of metal and glass.

Here is a bead embroidered pin I finished this afternoon. I created the cabochon face from paper, applied several different color shades of paint and then clear sealed it. I have made several different faces that I hope to bead around soon. This beaded pin will be available at the Riverside Casino Women's Show this Saturday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day...notice her beads!

So sweet...Bagel Ria, the beagle mix, 6 weeks old! See more pictures on today's (March 15) THE DAILY PUPPY. Hey Sara, I know you like beagles!!

I have not done a Caterpillar bracelet for probably over a year, so today was the day to make one. I have been making things to sell at the Women's Show - Riverside Casino in Riverside, Iowa on Saturday March 21, 10am-7pm.

I've used the Herringbone stitch to make these three "beaded beads" that are incorporated into this simple strung bracelet. Because of the lobster and soldered chain, it is adjustable to various wrist sizes. This type of closure technique sure beats any re-stringing, doesn't it?

Here is my finished Harlequin Butterfly Pin. It is approximately 2 1/2 inches long.

I am working on a new bead embroidered piece this morning. The centerpiece is a vintage hand made glass opal cabochon also known as Harlequin art glass. No two are ever alike. This particular color is vintage and quite rare. A metal butterfly bead hovers over the Harlequin glass.

Today is National Napping Day...did you get your nap?...me neither.

Today, while my sister and I were driving back from visiting our other sister, I just had to take a picture of this great barn. This painting of "American Gothic" is just west of Mt. Vernon on Hwy 30. Isn't it great? The colors are so vibrant against today's stormy blue sky...beautiful! Click on the picture to see detailing.

This morning a creative group of ladies made their "Goddess Bracelets" in a class at Bead Haven. We had such a nice time and the gals did a "royal" job! Starting at the left, are bracelets made by Sandy, Wendy(also the start of her necklace), Pat, and Jeanne. Click on the pictures to zoom-in on the detail... Goddess charms to complement the bracelets...Wendy stayed later after class and also finished a necklace. Here is her beautiful "Goddess" necklace & bracelet set! We hadn't seen Wendy in the store for a while so it was great seeing her and watching her do her beadweaving magic!

It's the weekend...

Can winter be over????

Here's another "Bad Hair Day" Pin just finished. She didn't photograph very well-she has lots of metallic Japanese seed beads! The seed beads that are three-toned (green, orange, black) are Czech.

Here is another bead embroidered cab pin that I just finished. I have used size 15/0, 11/0, and 8/0 Miyuki seed beads in this piece. I need a name for this one--any suggestions?

Bead Embroidery is one of my favorite things to do. I never know
what it is going to end up looking like. I think that's the real appeal

of it-creating it as you go and then the surprise ending. This is a new pin that I finished this early morn. It's very blue-lots of different shades. It just hit me that my friend Laurie's business is called "The Blue Butterfly Designs"...I think I'll call this piece-Blue Butterfly!

Meet Anuuk a fantastic mixed breed puppy that lives on Bowen Island! Isn't she great?

From tonight's class are beautiful Sidewinder bracelets done by(starting at the top of the photo) Cynthia, Alice, Pat, and Dell. What a great job you all did-Congratulations!

Here is my Russian Spiral out of #457 Bronze, my favorite color to work with, although it does not photograph that well. My Russian Spiral is done with size 8/0 hex and size 11/0 round seed beads. Adding three beads at a time is always a good thing, don't you think?

All you bead lovers out there...did you watch the Oscars last night? Did you notice the poscenium arch curtain framing the stage? If you didn't, you missed an eye-popping 60 feet tall, 100 feet wide, THREE ton Swarovski crystal curtain! It was comprised of approximately 100,000 Swarovski crystals--6,000 one-meter hand crafted strands!! (Oh, and a little something for the winners: they departed with a limited edition evening bag, adorned with the same Swarovski crystals as those of the Oscar Curtain.)

On This Day...

February 22, 1980: In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeated the four-time defending gold-medal winning Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The Soviet squad, previously regarded as the finest in the world, fell to the youthful American team 4-3 before a frenzied crowd. Two days later, the Americans defeated Finland 4-2 to clinch the hockey gold.
The victory was later memorialized in a 2004 film, "Miracle", starring Kurt Russell.

I finished the above bracelet tonight. It is flat even-count peyote stitch done with 11/0 Miyuki Delicas & 15/0 seed beads. I like the interplay of the colors and finishes.

It was a change of pace for me tonight since I subbed during the day with 7th graders ...lovely.

I call this my "Bad-Hair-Day" Pin. The face is a bone carved cabochon which is smaller than a dime. I need to create another that screams "I-Didn't-Even Comb-My-Hair Day" Pin, don't you think?

Adorable defined: Introducing Dax, the puppy & big sister, Luna from today's Daily Puppy! The Daily Puppy always makes my day brighter and today was a double "Awwwww factor." These two are just beyond cute-- what personalities, what complete joy!

I designed and finished the above bracelet tonight. I'm calling it "Spring Vine." I'm wondering if people might be interested in a class on this weaving technique? I incorporated a freeform spiral stitch with lots of embellishments.

I finished stitching the above Cabled Herringbone bracelet very early this morning. Design credit must be given to Rae Reller-what a beautiful design for Herringbone stitch!

Charlie the Retriever in training!

Above is a finished Spiral Stitch Bracelet done by Dell from tonight's class. What a beautiful job she did! Click on the photo to zoom in. The beads Dell used are size 8 Miyuki and are stunning together. (The unfinished spiral is mine-it's a type of freeform spiral.)

Here is "Jake" from today's Daily Puppy. Jake is an Alaskan Klee Kai, which is derived from Alaskan Athabaskan words meaning "small dog". His breed (a mix between a Siberian Husky and a Schipperke) is relatively new, having originated in the early 1970's. What a sweet dog!

Wire-Wrapped Bead class today...wrapped with beautiful sterling silver! Starting on the right in the bottom picture: Kathy's, Cindy's, Holly's, Tina's, Alice's and Linda's. Girls, you did such a fantastic job! Hope you all love your bracelets and had fun! Make sure you click on the pictures to zoom-in on the stunning work...