Here are a few things I just recently finished. Below is the "Cellini Spiral" necklace that I finished this morning. The next photo is a lime Sidewinder bracelet that screams "Spring is Here". I just finished this bracelet in the last hour. Don't we all have several projects going at once? Isn't that just a normal thing for jewelry artisans...are we crazy or what?And the last photo is of a wire-wrapped cuff that I formed myself and then wrapped with beads I like...pearls, turquoise, Czech glass, Miyukis, etc... etc... you get the idea?

Weird...

Did you hear about this one reported on April 13, 2009...

A five-centimeter fir tree has been found in the lung of a man who complained he had a strong pain in his chest and was coughing blood. The 28-year-old patient, Artyom Sidorkin, came to a hospital in the city of Izhevsk in Central Russia last week, Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reports. Doctors x-rayed his chest and found a growth in one of the lungs. They made a decision to perform a biopsy, but when they cut the tissue, they were amazed to see green needles in the cut.
“I blinked three times, and thought I was seeing things. Then I called the assistant to have a look,” says Vladimir Kamashev, MD.
The five-centimeter branch was removed from the patient’s body.
“They told me my coughing blood was not caused by any disease,” Sidorkin says. “It was the needles poking the capillaries. It really hurt a lot. But I never felt like I had an alien object inside of me.”
It is obvious that a five-centimeter branch is too large to be inhaled or swallowed, doctors say. They suggest that the patient might have inhaled a small bud, which then started to grow inside his body.
Meanwhile, the piece of lung with the little fir tree has been preserved for further study.

Note: I saw a photo of it-but I'm going to spare you a picture of it!

Did you know ...

Egg Salad Week begins today.

Wishing You A Happy and Blessed Easter

Look what "Esther" Bunny brought me! (Thanks, Anita!)

Saturday Classes

These two photos are from Saturday's classes. It is always wonderful to see all the creativity in motion! The ladies created projects with great color combinations! The first photo is of the morning Sidewinder bracelet class. Valerie did the bracelet, at the top of the photo, which was done with Czech 3mm Firepolish & Czech gem cut beads! What a stunning bracelet, Valerie!
I worked on the second bracelet. Scroll down to see the afternoon class project and remember that you can click on the pictures and get a closer look!
The afternoon bracelet class was called "Lovely Lentils." The gals wire-wrapped beautiful focal stones, and then embellished the soldered chain with Czech Lentil beads! Starting in the upper left corner and working clockwise are: Alice's (brown), Tina's (turquoise), Linda's(mauve) and Cathy's (purple). They did such a beautiful job. I hope all the gals enjoyed the day as much as I did. Great job, ladies!

Waiting For Easter...

Here is "Brook Trout" from yesterday's Daily Puppy. What a great face--you just can't help but smile...just what I needed today. Until one has loved an animal, part of your soul remains unawakened.

Look at these disk beads from Melissa's Sea of Glass! This photo is from Melissa's website. Just beautiful, Melissa! These will blend with so many different shades of seed beads. They will be treasured in a new "Altered Treasures" bracelet that I will make "someday"...

Simple, pertinent...

St. Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of you.

Lovely Lentils...

Do you like to work with lentil Czech beads? Do you have a special focal bead you'd like to "showcase"? Pictured below is a bracelet class called "Lovely Lentils" that I am offering at Bead Haven this coming Saturday, April 11 from 2-4pm. It really goes together quite fast and no previous experience is needed! And as Martha would say,that's a good thing!

April Open House at Bead Haven & Trunk Shows!
Friday, April 3rd 5-8pm and Saturday April 4th 10am-5pm
Discounts! Treats! Prizes!

Look at these beautiful sets of wrapped beads done tonight in class at Bead Haven! The top set was done by Dell and the bottom set was done by Diana. Really nice work gals! Click on the photo if you would like to get a close-up of their outstanding work!

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.