Lillian D. wants you to know...

Lillian D of WA state joined the BJP last April, fully expecting to meet her commitment to the project. We heard from her a couple of times in the first months... but not since... until a few days ago when she wrote to me and asked me to let you all know why she "dropped out of sight."

This is what she wrote...

I've been battling a surprising medical condition since I last posted in, I believe August 2007...To make a long story short...They found a pancreatic mass in my abdomen. It's in a too dangerous spot to remove it, too much to radiate and chemo didn't work. I'm in Hospice right now and still in shock!!!!!

In response to my reply, she wrote...

I would love to hear (emails) from members of the group-thanks! I feel the doctors think there is still a chance for miracles, and I'm and we're still doing all we can, but pancreatic stuff is tricky and unpredictable... I have a sister and brother-in-law in Portland (Dorothy and Wayne), and they come as often to visit as they can. And I have Jere at home :o) When I can, I will view some of the work, so many talented people in the group! :o) Thanks Thanks for your prayers, love and hugs and letting the group know for me.

So, if you'd like to write to her, the email is... lilliandelacruz{at}hotmail{dot}com. I hope a few of you will do that.... maybe it will help her in some way to know that we care and miss her. Thanks.

Robin A.

Just cheering you all on

G'Day all,
Thought I'd just pop in and cheer on those of you who have still to finish. You all know that you will get there and it is so satisfying when you have completed it.
I'm enjoying my little busmans holiday, I've been making a few baubles for presents and catching up with my social life.
I'm off now to check out the Members Pages at our website, I've no work today and can't think of anything better that looking at everyones completed work for an hour or two.
Bead on
Nospoj - Dinah

Just Checking In

G'Day All,
Feels like ages since I last gave an update. Feb started off fantastic, my page was going wonderfully and life was good, but was then struck down with the worst toothache ever! The dentist visit I'd been putting off for sometime was inevitable, but naturally for me there were complications (what else?!)Long story short, I'm falling behind again and my face has, luckily, receded from a golf ball size swelling to a gum ball size swelling. I'm on so many anti-biotics I'm rattling!
But on the upside we have had the wettest Feb in years and it's still raining, me thinks the drought has broken. With only one day of the month to go I just know that I'll not be finished inside the month but I'll be there at the finish.
Hope you are all in good health, I fighting back
Cheers
Nospoj (Dinah)

I met another BJP Member!

G'Day All,
On Sunday I went to a Bead and Gem Show here in Sydney Australia, during the course of the afternoon's wonderful shopping spree, I happened to stop at a stall that was selling raffle tickets with all the funds going to The Cancer Council - an organisation here that,provides support services for patients and carers; information resources on all cancer types and issues; cancer prevention and screening; advocacy campaigns.

Got chatting with the two ladies there and lo and behold one of them - Bianca - is one of us!
It was so nice to meet someone involved with the BJP, if time had of permitted I'm sure we could have talked for a lot longer.
Cheers
Nospoj

Attention... Unofficial Members!!!!

As you may have already gathered, there was a unanimous vote in favor of changing the status of unofficial BJP participants to OFFICIAL members!!!!

So, please welcome: Sunni W (NM), Denise H (IL) and Cindy K (IL)! Hooray! We're happy to have you on board!

* * * * * * * *

I know for certain that Sunni, Denise and Cindy are actively doing their monthly pages. But what about others? I don't want to overlook anybody, and initially quite a number of people said they would be doing it unofficially.

Are YOU one? If you are currently "unofficial," and would like to take the place of somebody who has quit the project, please email me. There are spaces available if you've been keeping up and have finished at least three pieces.

Robin A.

**?????** Important Question **?????**

Fact #1 ~ We have several dedicated women who have been doing their BJP pages faithfully, but unofficially (because they didn't know about the project until after the deadline).

Fact #2 ~ We've just been doing a survey of member participation, and have learned that several members have had to drop out of the project.

Question ~ What do you think about the idea of allowing the unofficial members to take the place of the drop outs????? Their status would change to "official" and they could post to our blog and join our Flickr group. Also, they would be able to exhibit/publish their work with us if/when such an opportunity arises.

How do you vote on this one?????

I'm introducing myself

My name is Julie Cook-this is my first post to the BJP blog. I have not taken pictures of my 3 works but there are pictures on my new blog of some of my bead embroidery pieces.

I have really been inspired by seeing other peoples pictures on the blogs Ive checked out. I'm happy for you to check out mine and appreciate any comments you may have. I look forward to being involved in this project.

June page - turtle

I wonder if the person who had a turtle on her June page could let me know who you are? I am wanting to look at your piece again, I was so inspired by the night sky. I can't find your posting! Thanks so much!!

All About Us

Just for fun, try Googling

Bead Journal Project.

We are ON THE MAP already!

How neat is that?

As promised, here are our stats:

We are a total of 240 members (239 women and 1 man).

We represent 37 states. WA has the most members (27), followed by CA (18) and TX (15).

We represent 13 countries (USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, and Italy).

Thirty-nine members are from countries other than the USA. That’s 16% of us.

While some of us are just beginning our beaded pathway, others of us have traveled with beads for many decades. Our collective beading experience is awesome!

Posted by Robin A.

It's June 1 in Oz

G'Day all,
The big day has arrived and it's the first day of Winter here in Australia. Woke up about 10am to a beautiful sun shiny day and got right to my first project peice. It's also my first attempt at bead embroidery and two hours later I've needed to take a break. I've now fallen in love with bead embroidery and can't wait to get back into it. So bye for now have fun on your first 'official' project day, I know I am!
Nospoj - Dinah

Tentatively Excited

My name is Melodie and I live in Oregon. I've lived all over the U.S. and lived for a few years in Italy a very long time ago. My family lived on an Indian reservation in the Southwest USA when I was a child, an one of our neighbors taught me to bead. The rest is history. I have more beads that time, but sometimes I just like to touch them and look at the colors. Beading has almost always been a meditation for me. I am excited about the project, but also know that I am a procrastinator extraordinaire.

In addition to beading, I sew, quilt, paint, embroider, cross-stitch, etc., etc., etc. I also care for my disabled husband and for my mother. The profession that found me is information technology and I am an IT director for a gaming resort.

I do not want to fail in meeting my promised beading, so I've put away everything else to bead for the next year. I am not used to having only one project going at a time, so wish me luck!! There are so many incredible beaders with this project, I am in awe. Some time ago I was asked from whom I would take beading lessons if I could, I answered, "Robin Atkins." Now, I am part of this huge project she is pulling together. What a blessing!! Thanks so much!!

P.S. Here it is toward the end of June and I've not stitched a single bead yet. I am moving right now so my life is in chaos. I hope to get settled into my new country home soon. I have the first page all planned out and I've gathered the bits and pieces for it. The theme for the first page is sort of "When I was young". At this mid-point in my life, I've been reflecting on all the people, places, and things that have come into and out of my life. Everything that brought me to where I am now. So, we'll see what comes out in the journal. Beading Blessings to all.

Hello to all you beady-eyed beaders!

Hi,
My name is Lynne (LinMoon), hailing from Southern California. I have been thinking about joining the BJP ever since I read about it, but just couldn't decide.... Of course, I imagined it as a quilt-sized monthly project, done mostly by experienced professional beaders, of course.....But it seems we have all kinds of people - that's the best, I think. It wasn't until I saw that Robin was going to do a postcard size, that I realized that I could commit to that. So it is with some trepidation and great excitement that I join all you very creative and superbly intelligent beaders! I've only done one bead embroidery - pictured here. It was inspired by a design on a button. Some of you have already started your beading, so I guess it's "Beaders, start your engines!"
Thanks, Robin, for your great idea.

~LinMoon

You can visit my blog here.

BJP Announcements + Thanks!

Hi Everyone!

Participants ~ Just a quick note to let you know our group, started only 3 weeks ago with a single post on my blog, now has 154 participants - way, way more than I thought we might get! Heavens... we already have 99 posts on this BJP blog, which is more than I've managed to write on my personal blog in a whole year. Way to go!!!

Deadline ~ I want to remind you all, in case you have friends who are thinking about joining, that the dealine is only 4 days from now... May 30th. I'm planning to be firm about the deadline.

Posting pictures of our bead journal pages ~ I've been following the discussions about showing picturs vs. not showing pictures. I'd like to propose a three month grace period... Let's not show any in-progress or finished project pictures until after September 1st on this blog. You are welcome to show pictures on your own blog or website before that, and you are welcome to make an announcement about it with a link on this blog. That way anybody who wants to see can go take a look; those who don't want to see don't have to look. After September 1, we can all post pictures here if we wish. Does this plan sound OK?

Thanks ~ Some of you have been writing some very complimentary things about me and my books here... BLUSH... I just want to thank you so much and also to thank you for giving your energy, heart and time to this project. We will have a fantastic journey together!

Posted by Robin

HOW TO UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS

Greetings BJP'ers from Downunder!

A long term sewer, beader and collector of all things gorgeous I live contendly in beautiful Sydney, Australia. The thrill of joining "The BJP" has a zillion, colourmad, beady ideas swimming round in my head that will eventually emerge. One definite choice is to create A5 size pages that will be held, for posterity, in either, a lavishly beaded binder or a tome.

I believe some of you have been having trouble uploading photo's so I held up my hand to write a 'How To'. Be warned I am no computer geek but have dabbled in blog land and have found it easy to add photo's ... once I got used to it that is!!

There is a schpeel on the Blogger page which is simple! Do yourself a favour and take the Blogger tutorial ... for now here's a step by step how to from a personal point of view!

1. Take your photo
2. Upload the photo to your computer.
3. 'save it' to somewhere that is easy for you to find - maybe on your desktop.
4. Sign in to Blogger.
5. Click on 'New Post'.
6. Be careful ... once you get to this page you cannot leave unless you are navigating through the Blogger icons -otherwise you will lose your text or pics.
7. Type in your title.
8. Now you can either upload the photo or write your text.
9. I've found it easier to add the photo first.
10. Click on the photo icon to the left of the beige heading in front of you.
11. You will see the Upload photo's page.
12. Click on 'add an image from your computer'.
13. Choose a layout is usually set at 'choose this layout every time'.
14. click on image size 'small'.
15. click on image size 'centre'.
16.To add the image ... it must be in jpg, gif, bmp and png images BUT ... JPG is the easiest ( I can't help you here you'll have to check how your pics upload to your computer).
17. Click on BROWSE.
18. You will then be asked to identify where your photo is stored.
this is where you will have to click on options in the drop down menu - see 'Desktop' it is easier to find than most other places and can be sent to your C drive or Photo Folder after you have uploaded.
19. Click on the orange highlighted box 'UPLOAD IMAGE'.
20. Wait till you see the message 'YOUR IMAGE HAS BEEN UPLOADED'.
21. Click on DONE
22. Return to the page where you started and click on 'PUBLISH POST'.

Blogger says 'The fastest way to understand blogging is to try it out'.

Trust me, that is very true... if I can do it you can too!

Don't be scared of Blogger just follow the steps or the links ... if anyone would like to add to this or change anything please do so!

Hope this Helps,
Beady Hugs,
Cherie aka Red.

Hello from Massachusetts

I'm Alicia and I love all kinds of handwork including beading. I have a wonderful stash which could use a good workout so this project seems rather perfect. Haven't quite decided if I want to create a book or if I'd rather connect the separate pieces as a single wall hanging. I really do love journaling of various types and in the past year I've especially enjoyed working on fabric art journals. Maybe, for that reason alone, it would be more of a creative stretch for me to join the pieces as a single unit for wall display. I'm leaning towards working with 7 inch squares as that will give me a chance to include other kinds of surface design in addition to beading. To me it makes a lot of sense to get a personal rhythm going for a few months before we start sharing our pages as a group but I'm sure I will post about my efforts on my personal blog well before that time. My theme will be an ongoing "capture" of events that are especially meaningful to me as the year unfolds. For instance, the last day of June is my birthday and it's the big 5-0 so it seems like a bit of no-brainer to start with that for my first journal entry. It's great fun to be part of a blog with so many contributors. The energy's already quite catalytic and we haven't even officially begun!

So happy to be here.....

Hello Everyone!

Wow, Robin, what a fabulous turnout you have gotten for this idea. It's evident that a Bead Journal is appealing to lots of folks.

I am very excited to get started on this. While I am too busy for words, and already have tons of commitments on my plate, this is something I will be doing solely for me. For my personal well-being actually!

I've done a little online research to learn a bit more about journaling, as it's not something I've ever done before. I'll share a few of those links with everyone in case there is some inspiration or information others can gather from them as well.

On About.com I found this link with some great information about Journaling. I especially like the first few sentences under the "Definition" of Journaling. http://stress.about.com/od/stressmanagementglossary/g/Journaling.htm
Stress reduction is a good thing! =o)

I will probably base most of my Bead Journal on my dreams, as they have always been a strong influence in my day to day life. I found this link with some interesting information regarding Dreams and Journaling: http://www.kporterfield.com/creativity/Dream_Journal.html

And this site has lots of great links that took me on a several hour long ride around the Internet! http://www.self-help-healing-arts-journal.com/

I hope some of these links will be helpful to others as well!

Happy Bead Journaling All!
~ Beki

Membership Still Growing...

Honk, Honk, HONK! I just enrolled the 100th participant!!! Congratulations to all of you!

Posted by Robin

Thoughts about joining...

Greetings to all of my fellow BJP participants. I am so looking forward to working on, and within, this very inspiring project. Thank you, Robin, for putting the opportunity into cyberspace where we could grab onto it if we so desired.

A friend of mine was telling me recently about a marvelous opportunity that had just come her way and that it had come about because she believes in NOT waiting for her ship to come in, but in swimming out to meet it instead. I was so inspired by her positive attitude that that is one of the reasons I decided to swim out to this Bead Journal Project (so to speak).

I had several reasons to hesitate. The foremost reason was that I am completely new to improvisational beading and pretty klutzy at it, too. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time and I certainly don't know any fancy stitches or even what they're called. I'm also self-employed (grow plants for a living), so in the "good weather" months I'm covered in potting soil and rarely have time or energy left for making pretties, although I *daydream* about them a lot. Still, I had to join. What a way to LEARN, to experiment, to be inspired by others! I am utterly and completely looking forward to being a part of this group project.

I'm thinking that even if I fall behind a bit on pages during the summer, I'll have many months of winter to make up for lost time. I am going to start a page each month, no matter what, and do whatever I'm able. My mind is a sea of ideas at the moment, although I know I will definitely be working small, no bigger than 4 inches by 4 inches -- my "little windows". I won't be doing a bound book form, but loose pages instead and probably loosely covered in beads. That is one of the most exciting aspects of this project -- I have no idea what I'm going to pull out of myself.

Onward and best to all,

Christi

Brave Enough....

I wish all of you (we're up to 67 now!) could see the emails I'm getting about joining BJP. One that came today just about sums it up:

"I'm ready to begin something new, something that will allow the creative in me to become brave enough to show herself to the world."

For me, this is what it's all about... a way for my inner voice to be heard, not so much by the world, but by me! I want to "hear" my own inner voice every minute I'm working on each beaded journal page.

Posted by Robin

Greetings

Hi all... This is Geneviève from Ottawa, Canada. I am very excited about this project; I have started thinking about a theme or themes for my pages, colour schemes, assembly ideas. I'm looking forward to sharing ideas with everyone.

Denise, it's nice to see you here. I have to mention to everyone that Denise is the one responsible for my getting into beading - has it been two years already? Although I have tried several kinds of beading, I am most fascinated by bead embroidery. You can see my first attempt on my web site.