December Calendar Doll and BJP

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! It's a busy time of year here as I'm sure where you are. My son is counting the days to Christmas and then his birthday. It's a happy time of year for children and I enjoy his enthusiasm so much. The kids in the area are wound up and ready! I would like to present my December Calendar doll, Santa. He's made with a few scupty objects. I made the face from a mold and my girlfriend Miss Patty made the star, circle and heart. If you think about it Santa has the biggest heart, he travels the world (circle) under the starts, so I thought it brought a little old world feel to him.

My December BJP is a tree with the ornaments exploding off it. I think it shows the enthusiasm of the season from many points of view. Those who love this season and those who just want to say Bahumbug. Your choice. I'm not going to tell you that I wanted the ornaments on the tree but couldn't do it, it just happened that they put themselves where they are and I'm doing a loose interpretation! :)

Thanks for all of you who have visited my blog and let such nice comments, I appreciate it and enjoy reading them. Enjoy your holidays, breathe and be kind to yourself. I'm trying to do this and remind myself of it often since I'm in the process of looking for a job. I retired last February for health reasons and it's time. I'm feeling stronger but you know if I had my druthers, I'd rather be beading! Less stress

November Calendar Doll

Introducing Leaf Me Alone, my November Calendar Doll. It's how I've been feeling. As I posted below, I've been thinking about what to do now that I think I'm about ready to go back to work. I am enjoying my peace and quiet and when people come into my space I get a bit agitated. I have just wanted to be left alone with my own thoughts. She started out as just a leaf to signify fall and all the beautiful leaves that have fallen and I think she is beautiful. So either way it will remind me of the peace that this month brought to me while watching all those leaves fall.

November BJP

Here's my November Bead Journal Project. It started out very orderly and then went off track a bit - guess that's the story of my life right now - I'm wandering around in my head trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. Since I retired from teaching preschool last February, I've been healing. I'm getting antsy about now working. I consider myself lucky that I have a number of choices but making a choice is a problem so the right thing hasn't come up yet. So you can see that the beads kind of meander around the large stone - the meandering just happened.

October BJP

I finished up my October page - I just love the blue stones in the middle - can't remember what they are blue sunstone or something like that. They have some wonderful sparkle in them. I just wanted to show them off.

Calendar Dolls

In September, I joined the Calendar Doll Challenge on Beaded Art Dolls. I didn't think to post them until just now. So I'm posting September and October dolls now. They are about 4 inches tall and flat. I'm working up to 3D, not that I haven't made any art dolls before, just never beaded. I'll get ther. September is called Simplicity and October is called Harvest Pumpkin. I bet you can tell the difference:)

Gift in the Mail

Look what came in the mail! I totally forgot that I had played a blog game - show off your bead tray on Denise's blog http://bitsofbeads.blogspot.com/ and got these great blue beads in the mail with a nice note from Denise! Looks like November might just have to be blue. This was such a nice treat. Thought I'd show them off. Thanks Denise!

Beading Area

Denise from the Bead Journal Project 08 suggested that we show our beading areas. So today, I took a picture of my bead tray - it's really big! No, not really, it's actually a travel size diaper wipe container that I put a matt in. It's great because I take it with me wherever I go. It fits into my purse until I switched to my small winter one, today. I bead while my son goes to TaeKwonDo. I used to just drop him off and come home but with the price of gas I now go and stay so I bead. I can bead in the car with this, too. Most of the time I bead in a recliner with my feet up. I get comfy! What's everyone else using?

September Bead Journal Project

I just finished my September BJP "page". I have decided on circles for a shape and began this month with a mirror. I am in transition and the mirror symbolizes reflection. While I was beading, I thought about turning 50 this month on the 24th (how appropriate to start a new year beading). What am I going to do for the future, career wise? How can I improve my health? How can I spend my time better? What do I really want? I guess that's what this year will be about. This was a freeing piece - totally impovised except for the mirror.

Summer is Almost Over

It's been a while since I've added anything to this blog. Summer is almost over, school is almost to begin and it will be quiet in the house. Our Bead Journal Project for 2008 starts September 1 and will end August 31, 2009. I'm not sure what size I'll be using this year or even what shape but I have a few days to decide. I'm excited to being another year of beading with one full year under my belt and some knowledge, too it will be interesing to see what comes out and onto the fabric. I've been beading all summer and as soon as school starts I'll take some pictures of what I've done. I've learned a bit too which it neat. Anyway, it's almost time to start and maybe the blogging will continue too. For all those who are in BJP, good luck and happy beading.

New Adventure

I just started an encrusted crazy quilt class on line with Joggles and thought I'd just share my first block. This is lesson one - create a block. I assume we'll be adding lots of embellishments in the next 5 classes. Maybe I'll add each step here.

The colors are off. I started with the offwhite with a lavendar hue brocade center, added lite blue, yellow, pink, green, purple a green and gold brocade a darker purple and a sparkly purple. I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses. I can see many trips to the thread shop for silk thread and embroidery floss. I'm especially looking forward to adding beads and buttons but I think that's last because everything else will get caught on them.

I've Been Tagged

Robin, from Beadlust and Bead Journal Project (see side lines for sites) just tagged me to do this mere. Just 5 interesting questions. It’s kind of fun learning about other friends out there that I’ve never met, so I’ve done my best to answer.

• 1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
  10 years ago, I had just quit my job after 17 years at the Hartford Courant to raise my son. We were doing the playgroup thing, the nap thing (I miss this), and just keeping a 2-year-old busy and out of trouble! Reading children’s stories and watching children’s movies, visiting museums, playgrounds and all those things kids do.

• 2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
  Oh, I live such an exciting life! Grocery shopping, clean the house, write some emails to my boys (I am a boys scout merit badge counselor), write a thank you note, plant some herbs and veggies. box up some books to donate to the library, take my son to TaeKwonDo (he became a black belt at age 10, he’s 12 now and going for his 2nd degree black belt soon). There must be more but it’s still early.
  

• 3. Snacks, I enjoy?
  That’s a tough one! Hum, it would have to be cheese, a really good extra sharp cheddar! I am choosing to eat right and have stopped eating sugar and white flour. I’m following the Atkin’s program and have lost 33 lbs in the past 3 months. Before this I’d have to say anything with chocolate.

• 4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
  Wow, there’s a lot I could do with this amount! Pay off the house, get a new car, put my son through middle school, high school and college. Bead, sew, oh, have someone clean my house and then I’d donate, donate, and donate! I have a soft spot in my heart for Fidelco Guide Dogs. We were so lucky to be the caretakers of a retired Fidelco dog, Jordan. He spent his retirement with us and he was the BEST dog ever. We had Jordan, a beautiful German Shepherd, for 5 years. He was so fun to have. He was gentle, loving, vocal (not in the barking way) and protective without even doing anything! He was really big!! So I’d donate to them. I’d donate to other organizations, too but right now I can’t think of any.
  

• 5. Places I have lived?
  Groton, Mass
  Fort Devens, Mass
  Newington, CT
  Verdon, France
  Atlanta Georgia (Atlanta Army Depot)
  Fort Ord (Monterey, CT)
  Williamsburg, VA
  Newport News, VA
  Heidelberg, Germany (Graduated HS in the Castle)
  New Britain, CT
  Newington, CT
  Manchester, CT (I’ve lived here since 1991 – longest time I’ve lived anywhere)
  I think that's it - just don't ask for dates - that's almost impossible. Can you tell I’m an Army Brat?

• 6. Peeps I want to know more about.
  

beadin'gram at http://beaded-creation.blogspot.com

Williamsburg Beader at http://williamsburgbeader.blogspot.com

http://sacredartist.blogspot.com/
http://nightbeaderatlarge.blogspot.com/
cc at: http://hrhcc.blogspot.com/

Not knowing many people on line, I'm tagging the above cyber-friends for this meme and hoping you’ll be willing to do it. By the way, “doing it” means you get to answer the same 6 questions as I have, and then tag 5 or 6 more people. Of course, you don’t have to do it. But if you do, please let me know so I can be an appreciative reader!

Finished 2007 Bead Journal Project

Here are a few pictures of my completed book. The pages are 5x7 and it's about 6 inches thick as you can see from this picture.

Just a few of the pages. Funny, the book stands on it's own! I just realized that.

I used peltex as a stabilizer with cotton as a fabric or painted the peltex as a backing to the beads. I then sewed each page to felt and used grommets to loop them all together. I planned each page to have about an inch more on the left hand side. I didn't know at the beginning what I'd be doing with all the pages but I did plan ahead just in case by leaving the extra on the left. Good thing!

May Bead Journal Page

I can not believe that this is the last page for the 2007 - 2008 Bead Journal Page quest. This is May. The face is a polymer clay face I made, painted with gesso and then used water color paints to drip all over it with my favorite colors. I really like this page because I used a bunch of different beads and used some in different techniques that I haven't used before.

I know that I'm really early with the last three pages but, I quit my job and have been using beading to "run away". I am happy that I actually finished the journey. I was afraid earlier in the year that I wouldn't finish and I really wanted to in the worse way. I proved to myself that I could make a year long commitment and do it. Best part is that I enjoyed the whole thing.

I have also enjoyed watching everyone else's pages. They are all so wonderful and creative. I have seen my own growth along the way especially in the beading ways. My favorite part is just letting the page create itself. What fun! Thank you to all for your sharing.

April Bead Journal Page

April showers bring May flowers! That's what went into my head when I did this one. I'm hoping for lots of flowers since we had lots of rain. Wish the shine came out better with the sequines I used for the puddle.

March Journal Page

March Bead Journal Page is celebrating the GREEN! I didn't catch the shine of the whole piece which started with the great cab in the center that has flakes of silver in the green. I don't know what it's called but I built around it.

Pay It Forward

This is Milo.

There is a blogger Pay It Forward going on. The idea is this: As part of the PIF venture, I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment here on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. I am not sure what that gift will be yet, and youwill not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! That is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is to Pay It Forward by making this same promise on your blog.I really love that this supports the random acts of kindness philosophy, & gives a boost to handmade, all in one. It's popping up everywhere - Pay it Forward. Are you in?

Catching Up

Wow! Can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. Won't bore anyone with the whys and whatfores. Let's just say, I've been busy. Healing.

We're on school vacation and I'm breathing. I took pictures of my pages October thru February. I can't believe I'm actually caught up.

October's started slowly. I had the 3 stone leaves and thought it looked boring and needed some sparkle. You can't tell by the picture but the beads in the large leaf shine, the red veins match the red in one of the stones. It still wasn't enough so I just kept on going. A little here and a little there until I said - enough.

November's page took some time. I painted the pelltex a shiny black with acrylic paint. I remember someone else did that earlier and I liked it. Robin said go for it and of course, I didn't until now. I was going to do a cornacopia, then a turkey but as I thought about November, I thought about all our Veterans. My mom and dad were both vets and I thought it might be a nice way to pay tribute to them and all those who came before and after them. I started with the word Thanks. It looked stark and what am I thankful for? hum, I need an American Flag. Quick off to my mother's jewelry box. Yes, I have it and I haven't taken it over with my stuff. I still have my own. Anyway, I got a Bicentenniel flag '76. Ok, but what else. I remember seeing a bunch of my dad's stuff in a box of letters. I haven't read them but I think they are love letters from and to my mom and dad (to each other!). Anyway, I pulled out my dad's signias that he had collected. I wish I knew what they were for (that's another project). I put them on. I had some of the familiar pins that he wore on his uniform, the U.S. pin, the Engineer pin, the star. I found my mom's American Legion pin. So that's how that page came to be. It is by far the heaviest page!

December was a blur and to tell you the truth, I didn't want Santa or a tree or a stocking or anything like that. I thought how simple a gold star would be. I once again painted the peltex with acrylic paints and used gold triangle beads to go around the outside of the star. It really looks much better in person. A simple star can represent a whole lot of things for a whole lot of people. I just love the simplicity of it.

January's Page - Happy New Year! I thought I'd welcome in the baby new year with a bang of fireworks. It's going to be a wonderful year.

February's Page is of course a bunch of hearts. I started collecting hearts a little while ago and was planning on doing something totally different with them but they landed on the page. It's a happy hearts page.

I am so happy I am able to put these up to share with everyone. I have been taking sneak peaks now and again but haven't been commenting on any. I have LOVED what I've seen. What a talented group! I look forward to more from me and everyone else.

Hope all is well with you - Hugs from Heidi where the weather here in Connecticut can't make up it's mind if it's going to be winter or summer.