Happy Birthday...

...to me!




I cheated on the candles, but only because I ran out of those little supports you put under...in case you're wondering, they should have been 29!

Ready for the new

I bet everyone is getting ready for the new year right now - as the radio is saying, we don't know if there's going to be another one, according to Maya predictions, LOL.
Lately I've been knitting instead of beading (though I just received a custom order ^^): my Mom & I have been making tones of these



as Xmas gifts.
I have so much wool I never use! But one of my new year's proposition is to knit more, possibly with some concrete result!

He approves


Happy New Year to all of you, and as my beloved David Coverdale always says:
"Be Safe, Be Happy, and don't let anybody make you afraid".

This is what happens...

...when you work too much and have little fun.
It took me a whole month to figure out how to combine the 2 things: my first crochet-rope and my beaded dolls, patiently waiting for me in my bead box.
This is the result:



I'm always inspired by Dia de los muertos, and I like the chunky, kitsch result!



Now I have to figure out what to do with the remaining skull beads (and the ones from last year too).

Crochet rope

My first attempt with crocheted ropes...



...which will become a new necklace involving some other beaded dolls!

Lions, Tigers and Bears, OH MY !

The poll for the Etsy Beadweavers September challenge is open, it took me 1 second to vote since I already had a favourite piece in mind!
Here are all the entries:



Loved this theme so much! Would have liked to make a bigger piece for the challenge, but it seems like you never have enough time when you really like a theme.

I'm planning to bead more and to make some rule in this house (do I sound serious????). I'm neglecting not only my beads, but also the house and every other thing I like.
So next week I'm going to sign up in my old gym and start kick-boxing again, hoping that will make me feel better about a lot of things that are going wrong lately. Punching something is always a great remedy for almost anything!

I'm also very happy 'cause I've just discovered there's a yoga center right in front of my house and it's really cheap too! I'm going to have a trial day next tuesday.
I find the combination of yoga and an aggressive sport to be perfect to heal everything that has gone bad during the day: you learn both how to relax and to boost yourself out.

Have fun with the challenge and don't forget you have time to vote until 15th of September!

The Road to Oz

I remember watching "Return to Oz" movie when I was a little girl, it scared me so much!
I had never watched the original Oz movie (shame!) and didn't really understand all the yellow brick road thing. Then I read the book, and decided I needed to watch the gorgeous Judie Garland, and I started to love the wonderful world of Oz!
So even though I didn't have the time to make what I had in my mind, I really wanted to partecipate in this month's competition:



I decided Toto was "my animal": it's because of him if Dorothy's been carried away with the whole house!
This little button seemed perfect, and I love beaded dolls very much, so it came out naturally.



Please remember go on EBW website from 9 to 15 September to marvel at the beauties you will find there!

Chains and competitions

Summer vacations are over and I didn't even had the time to realize it!
Been working non-stop for 2weeks and I hardly had the time to bead.
But I do had the time to go to the library, and saw the latest issue of Beadwork magazine...I fell in love with Cristie Prince's Chain of Jewels Necklace.
I went back to the library 3 times and finally decided to buy it.
Now I'm super busy making it:



It's a thread(and time)-eater project, but the result is so beautiful that you might want to make one in each color of your stash.
I will surely make a silver one as soon as I have the time to go and buy some new beads!

Meanwhile I'm working on the piece for Etsy Beadweavers September challenge, the theme is "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!"
Just starting my brick road, hope to finish it on time!

Rondelles, anyone?

On vacation from 2 days, yesterday I went to the usual thursday market to buy beads.
I also burnt my back cause I was so eager to find them, I totally forgot to put my sun screen on - and that's something I've never forgotten since I was a child.
I found a lot of new colors and sizes of rondelles!



If anyone needs rondelles of these sizes, feel free to contact me!
I'm going to make some more Honeycomb bangles for my mom and myself, with the right size of beads this time!

Her own necklace

Some days ago I fell in love with Marcia De Coster's "very own necklace", so I tried to make something similar and asked her permission to post the picture



Yeah, VERY different result but I love it and hope to have the time to wear it soon!
I'm working at some sporting club receptions right now, so I have to wear their polo shirt and don't really feel like wearing any jewelry, but as soon as I'll slow down a bit I'm going to put on all my latest creations!

Finally, the honeycomb bangle

After my last moving I pledged not to buy beads until I have enough money and space for them, so I'm using my stash for everything. This means I can't always make what I want because my beads are not the right size or shape.
That's why I tried several times to make the Honeycomb bangle by Cynthia Rutledge with miserable failures as results.
Then I found some small rondelles I bought this winter and decided to give it a try, modifyng the scheme a bit.
Here's the result:



I'm happy I managed to make it! I didn't know there was a free pdf with explanation on how to use smaller rondelles.
But the tutorial was easy to adjust.