Big Beady Hugs to All!

At the count down for 2007,
I'm counting my most special blessings at about 242!!!
The inspirations and joys of beading
together with all of you since June
are so much more than I ever imagined it could be...
way beyond my wildest dreams!

I'm extremely proud of us all
for sticking with it
through the difficult times
and for our collective accomplishment!
It is truly beyond my ability to express
how grateful I am
to be a part of this,
to share mutual support,
to grow as an artist.

Warm beady hugs to each of you
and my wishes that
all the blessings of love, friendship,
peace and adventure
will be yours
in 2008!

Robin A.

The time has come . . .

Received word last night that all six semi-finalists for the All Dolled Up: Beaded Art Doll Competition are up on the Land of Odds website and ready for voting. My Galilea has some fascinating competition. Please remember you can vote only once -- all votes will be checked at the end of the voting period for duplicate isps which will be disqualified.

If you know anyone else who would be interested in voting in this competition, by all means please forward the link to them.

Go to http://www.landofodds.com/store/alldolledup2007contest.htm and check out all the shapes and beads and wild imagination . . .

Kathy V in NM

A little doll between pages

I started on this doll after I finished up the June page and before I started on my July page. I named him Blue Moon. I don't often name my dolls, but this one has special meaning for it's recipient - hence the name.

He is about 4 inches from left point to right point. The muslin form was made by Monica Magness, the polymer clay face by Jen Martin.

Now I'm off to begin adding beads to my July page...

Intro

Hi,

This is my first time posting to a blog, so please for give me if my I do something wrong!

I've been beadworking for about 16 years, lampworking for 10 years. I've done mostly off-loom beadwork, herringbone, peyote, square stitch, RAW, and brick. I taught myself lampworking (beadsuncommon.com) and my first beadweaving was learned from a book; those wonderful little triangular brick-stitched earrings gave me the beading bug. I'm mostly self-taught with beadweaving, except for peyote stitch and beaded knitting. I took a peyote class & bead knitting class at Skyloom Fibres, a wonderful bead/fibre/looming store that used to be here in Denver. The teacher was Charlotte Elitch, an expert in all kinds of beading and fibre arts.

I'm 52, (53 in July), a Colorado native, am involved in Border Collie Rescue, if you need to reach me, my email is: beadesigner@comcast.net
Beadwork has gotten me through a lot of health issues; I have lupus, fibromyalgia, Asperger's syndrome, asthma(severe at times) and am bi-polar. I've had to have both hips & both knees replaced in the past 3 years, (due to lupus) had to deal with infection from one of the hip surgeries.
Spirituality, music and beads have helped to get me through everything. Plus I've found that you have the choice daily whether to be happy or not; it's all in how you take things! I choose to be happy, it's not only more pleasant for me, but it's much easier for my husband and others to be around me.
I play guitar, (classical and folk) and kantele, (a sort of Finnish harp). The kantele has such a gentle, healing sound; I do believe that if everyone on earth had a kantele and played it daily, there would be no more wars! It's a truly magical instrument. If you want to hear some sound samples, go to:
www.kantele.com
I love old time radio shows such as Fibber McGee & Molly, Our Miss Brooks, The Shadow, X Minus One, Suspense, and all of the others, too numerous to mention.
I'm a huge fan of Prairie Home Companion!
I love all music, especially old time Big Bands, rock, blues, classical, Mariachi music, old traditional African music, reaggae, old scool hip-hop, (Grand Master Flash, Run DMC, Digable Planets etc.) everything except "soft rock", (Celine Dione and her cohorts all sound alike to me). I don't care for modern Country, except for the Dixie Chicks and Mary Chapin Carpenter. My absolute top favourite mucicans include: Glenn Gould, Ry Cooder, Pete Seeger, Mike Seeger, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garmarna, Hedingarna, Merle Travis, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Loituma, Frigg, Wimme (traditional Saami joiks), Varttina, Big Mama Thornton, B.B King, Balkan Beat Box, Joss Stone, James Gang, Stan Rogers, Mike Seeger, Pete Seeger, Pat Donahue,..I could fill pages!
Needless to say, I'm always listening to music while beading!

This beaded journal project will be interesting & fun!

Evalynne (Lynne)

Happily consumed with thoughts of beads!

Hi, I’m Grace - I discovered the wonderful world of beading about 2 ½ years ago, I was a cross stitcher for many years and through that found my way to beads and a love affair was born.

Beading is the sanctuary to which I flee from the stress and pressure of my job and every day life. For this project, I have so many ideas running through my head. While I think I have a good idea of what I will start with – I know that can all change when I thread my needle and begin to put beads to fabric. As much as I have tried in the past to plan what I will bead, it never comes to pass and that’s okay – it seems that everything turns out just perfect anyway. I tend to change my mind with every bead and I like it that way – no pressure. The only sure thing with the project so far is the size of my ‘pages’. I believe I have a name for my journal. But that, as with everything else, may change once I start, halfway through or once I’m finished.

Like many others, I am self-taught through tutorials on the Internet; by way of some wonderful books in print and through inspiring connections made with like-minded people on the Internet. Most of my beading has been focused on dolls, however I have tried my hand at some flat bead embroidery and off loom weaving. I enjoy every minute I spend doing it.

I’m thrilled to be included as a participant in this group; I have admired the creations of many of the members here and consider myself fortunate to be among all of you; experienced and beginners alike. Above is a little garden goddess I made for a friend last year. Green is my favorite color and seems appropriate right now with everything springing to life.

Take care,
Grace

Denise Here with some Ideas

The main reason I decided to join this project was because I felt that it would create opportunities for me to expand my techniques. I want to be able to learn more stitches, play with colours and practice my cab work. I have decided to work with 4 by 4 squares. I can do lots of beading on a square of that size but don't have to fill it if I'm having a busy month.
I like the idea of people sharing and discussing what techniques they want to practice, which colours they want to work with. Sometimes it may be completely intuitive beading but even intuitive beading can benefit from colour exploration or the use of different types of beads or stitches.
I hope to benefit from the exchange of ideas, thoughts and plans for certain times of the year!
I may even have to buy the odd bead or two - ya know that's going to be fun too!
Cheers, Denise