More Cruise Photos

The group above are the original "509ers," for Table 509 of the cruise last year. They are the reason I went on the cruise again. These women are the best group of friends. We spent our entire dinners laughing, laughing, and laughing. We are a totally diverse group of people and just ended up at the same table. I love these women!


As friends send me photos I'll post them. First is this beautiful sunset from Sandy.
Here are the two Sandy's, below. They are best friends and two of the nicest people! They are very creative and make beautiful designs. If you can see, they are wearing their completed Marcia DeCoster Terracita earrings, which are just divine!

Bead Cruise

A few weeks ago I went on a Bead Cruise (Bead Cruise '09). I like to get away from the Michigan winter and this is a great way to do that. Above, a photo of the menu at the famous Cafe Du Monde, known for their deep fried and heavenly doughnuts.



A photo of the ship, the Norwegian Spirit, and a duck (?) sunning comfortably.



Mom in Cozumel. Lots of shops, lots of store owners trying to get you to buy their goods, lots of practice bargaining over prices.

On the last night of the cruise we all dressed up and had a group dinner. Below is me, my mother and cruise-buddy, and Marcia DeCoster, wearing her lovely shawl, which is accessorized with Swarovski crytals.
The Bead Cruise is a lot of fun. Nice people, sunny skies, beading or excursions depending on your interests, and, of course, all you eat all day!

Beading for a Cure

Beading for a Cure is a fund-raising project done by members of the All About Beads forum on Yahoo Groups in memory of a member who died of colorectal cancer. Each member who participates receives a kit of beads to make a project, which is then auctioned on e-bay beginning in March, National Colorectal Cancer Month.

To see these beautiful art creations, go to:

beadingforacure.org/auctions.html

You can see all the weekly auctions and click on a link to take you directly to the ebay auctions.
Remember, they start March 1st. These projects are made with love and remembrance, and are perfect gifts for yourself, friends, and family.

New Blog format

I've changed my blog format. I really like the simplicity of the blogs I've seen in all white, plus I think it shows off the photography better.

I am finishing beading "old" projects. I'm making a lot of progress, and will post photos when I'm done. Sometimes I'll pull out a project and realize I don't care for it anymore, and it will just go into my unfinished/sample bin. Sometimes I've had a bag of colors together to start a project for a year, and then I start it and don't like it...so those colors go back into my bead bins. All of a sudden I have "new" beads to play with, beads I had forgotten about, or beads I especially like that I thought I had misplaced.

We had a call from Jason today. He is studying abroad for a semester and we haven't talked with him since he left Jan. 25. I don't know how much studying he's doing, but he's having a blast. The program has trips and social events every weekend and he's participating in those. It was so nice to hear his voice.

That's it for now!

Inauguration Day

Today is a new day... (my neighbor Laura's flag)


Today is a new beginning... (my neighbors John and Dottie's flag)


Today is a day of...(the sign in my window)

Winter blues

I have the winter blues. If you come by and read my blog, please leave a comment and say hello!

Bobbin lace

When I was in Mexico I had the great fortune to sit next to a lovely woman, Yumi Mutoh, from Japan. Yumi hand makes bobbin lace, and below is a photo she sent me of a piece she recently made. Isn't it absolutely stunning? People always ask us beaders how we have the patience to bead, well, I think that what Yumi does takes far more patience and skill than anything I have ever done. She will be entering this piece in an exhibition this spring. I look forward to seeing more of her work.

Arizona trip

I recently was in Arizona to celebrate my sister's 50th birthday. We had a great weekend, full of fun and eating. This first photo is a close-up of a peyote band I made her. I didn't really know whether to make it a bracelet or something she could hang up (I've made her a cardinal crystal ornament in the past), so I kind of improvised.

Here is the full piece. It covers the top of her wrist and a tiny bit of the side and looked good just with the ribbon tied in a knot.

And here is my family, in front of the lovely old hotel we had lunch at, I believe called the Royal Palm. From the left - Irving and my mother, Buddy and Toby (the birthday girl!), Sharon and me!

A beautiful piece in the hotel lobby.

And the fountain in front of the hotel. Such a lovely setting.

beaded jewelry

This first piece is freeform over a washer. My favorite colors!



I saw a photo on a blog (sorry I can't reference it) of a similar piece and made this set to go with a dress I wore in Mexico.

This beautiful lampwork face is by Sylvie Landsdowne, as is the beaded pattern for the mermaid. She hangs on a tubular right angle weave strap embellished with crystals.

BJP Mandalas

I am very excited to share my September-December mandalas with you! I had a difficult time starting, but once I found my groove, I just took off. These are in descending order, from December to September.

December: I received an email from the online catalog, See Jane Run. The figure was a pink ribbon. But I saw energy, gold, and purple.


November: Peace Mandala. I want to grow peace, which is reflected in my garden of peace.

October: This mandala was inspired by a bush in my neighbor's yard. Just as I was about to take a picture of the bush, my neighbor came out of her gate and surprised me. She says it's not actually a "nice" bush, that it has lots of thorns in it. But she agreed that the colors were lovely.

September: I was getting nowhere with my bead embroidery. Finally, I decided to bead a blank slate. Imagine my surprise when a little color creeped in, and some circles, and...it looks like a winter sunset...you just never know where the beads will take you.

From Sun to Snow

One week we're in Cancun, the next back at home and a major snowstorm. At least one of our son's is home, plus we acquired a snowblower this year (finally).

I just came back from a week in Cancun, Mexico. I was hoping the bright colors and beautiful water would inspire me, but I found Cancun very depressing. In the past, when I've gone to Mexico, I've gone further south and have been exposed to a more traditional Mexico. Cancun is just hotels and shopping, it could be anywhere on a nice beach. But that's where my husband had a conference and that's where I went, too. I love the turquoise water seen in this photo, and the fine white sandy beach. I couldn't do any beading because it was so windy, the beads would have flown all over the beach. I was able to see some beading, though, in the shops, and I admired the patterns and colors used. I bought a few pieces, a necklace and a few bracelets, hoping to somewhat support the women who make them.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Both boys came home, slept a lot, studied a lot, saw their friends. Here they are at various computers around the house - Sam on top studying for his law school tests, and Jason below, probably doing something on Matlab.

Unfortunately, on their way to pick up Sam's girlfriend, just a short drive away, they were rear-ended and the rear of the car is totaled. It was snowing out and slippery, and the car behind them was going too fast and couldn't stop. Luckily everyone was fine, and that's the main thing I care about.

As those of you who read my blog know, I've been struggling with this years BJP. No creativity, no ideas, no motivation. Nonetheless, I beaded these inchies in the hope that they would lead to something, a spark, an ah-ha moment. But no go. As one of my friends commented, they are nice, but have no soul. I agree, so I'm still searching...

VOTE !VOTE !VOTE !