Winter Storm

Well, I finished it. These are not my favorite colors to work with, but our recent weather seemed to call for it. Makes me cold just looking at it. Brrrr! I promise the rest of my pages will be more cheerful. I already have ideas for next month, but I have a few special projects to do before I can start it.

We are doing inventory at our LBS where I volunteer. Not sure I would do it if it weren't beads. LOL. I remember when we moved the shop to its present location, about five years ago. Trust me, you don't ever want to do that. We only moved diagonally across an intersection. My fellow teachers threatened to put me in a shopping cart with my arms out to hold bead strands. The mental picture is hilarious! I told them they would have to get the fire department to use the jaws of life to get me out. Needless to say, we found another way.

Just a Tease

Thought I would blog just a teaser of my January BJP page. I really like the 3x5 size I chose for this year. It's easier to hold in my hand to work on, and still gives me room to play with different ideas. My focus this year is on color. I want to climb out of my box a bit and try some new color combinations. In deference to the cold, windy weather much of the country is experiencing right now, I chose to start the year with white and silver. Hopefully, I will become a little more imaginative as the months go by. I am so pleased that two of my best friends from here are joining me in the adventure this year. I know it will make it even more fun.

Goodbye 2009

Can you believe this year is over as of today? In many ways it has been a good year: Sharing with friends and family, going to Retreats and bead shows, and beading.
Unfortunately, it has also been a sad year. Losing family members and friends is always sad. This post is dedicated to those who no longer walk beside us. This piece of bead embroidery has been done since Christmas. I've spent so much time thinking of my friend, Lora, and her fight to overcome Inflammatory Breast Cancer that I decided to call this piece "Lora's Song". She was a friend to many and always positive and upbeat. She will be missed.

I have a good feeling about 2010. I think it will be a creative, productive year for all of us. Tomorrow we start our third year of the Bead Journal Project. What a blessing that has turned out to be for many of us. Robin Atkins has touched so many people with this project and continues to do so.

May all of you have a wonderful New Year, and may you love, laugh and be happy for all your days. Be safe this holiday and be creative, no matter what your chosen medium.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wish It Were Snowing

Merry Christmas everyone!


These pictures were taken in Tahoe during our Retreat there in October. Sure wish it would snow just this much here in Fresno/Clovis for the holidays. Not bad to drive in, yet beautiful to look at. We have received a good bit of rain, but it's not the same. Guess I should be thankful for the rain. We needed it soooo much.


I'm sitting here listening to Christmas carols and thinking of all of you. For you, I wish a happy, joyful holiday. May you have all your wishes come true and may you enjoy your families in this Blessed season.


I will be spending my Christmas with my family and friends. I am blessed to have them so close by me. Every time I look at my grandsons, they have grown another inch. They are 20, 16, and 10 years old. I am so proud of all three.


I am also fortunate to have a wonderful beady family here. They are my sisters of the heart. Then there are all of you, who I know from the Internet. I've been lucky enough to meet many of you in person and it's as if I have known you all my life. How blessed I am.


Have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you next year.

Printer is fixed!

Hurrah! I now have a new printer. Once again, I can share pictures. These are two of my favorites from the Tahoe Retreat. Dustin and Beki look like they are having a giggle, don't they? Nikki, Dustin, Sherry and Marcia always add to the fun of a party.

It seems like I have been doing a lot of everything but beading lately. I know I've been buying beads like I was running out of them at home. NOT!

I am working on a new bracelet design right now. Of course, it is bead embroidery, but is not a cuff. I hope to have some pics of it soon.

Is everyone ready for Christmas? For a change, I have most of my shopping done. I started back in September. This is something I never do. I am a world class procrastinator and usually am scrambling to finish at the last minute. I am actually looking forward to the holidays this year, which is something I can't always say.

More soon.......

Happy Thanksgiving to all

I wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are able to spend it with family and friends. May this holiday find you all well and happy.

A fervent thank you to all our troops for your sacrifices being away from your families and loved ones at this time. You are all in my prayers.

As you can tell, I haven't fixed the picture problem yet, but it will be done soon. My tech support grandson will look at it this weekend for me.

It's been a busy late Summer and Fall for me. We had our local Bead Show in September. Several of us immediately went to Tahoe for a Retreat. What a ball that was! We took three great classes from Beki Haley, Marcia DeCoster and Sherry Serafini. Just as soon as we returned to Clovis, we had a maraton weekend of classes through our Bead Society and our local bead store, Beads, Etc. in Clovis. We topped that off two weeks later with a class from Leslie Frazier. That just about classed me out. LOL. I have way too many patterns running around in my head right now.

We changed our annual trek to the BABE(Bay Area Bead Extravaganza) Show. Instead of going for several days, we took the train up for just one day. Seemed kind of strange to not be staying at the hotel this year, but there is always next year. It sure didn't stop us from shopping! I have been working at our LBS three days a week and teaching classes as needed. I just got permission from the owner to set up an area focused on Bead Embroidery. Just ask me how jazzed I am about that!!!

Have a wonderful holiday.

Two Things

I want to smile every time I think about this last weekend. We returned last evening from the Bead Unique Tahoe Retreat totally exhausted, but replete in all the beadiness we were able to indulge in all weekend. Great classes by even greater teachers made each day a delight. Often, after taking a class, I will neglect to finish the project due to disinterest after learning the technique. Not this time! All three classes were totally interesting and will be finished ASAP. I plan to wear them all proudly.

The staff who planned and executed the retreat are to be commended for their diligence and unfailing good grace. They were cheerful and helpful in all ways. There were so many sponsors it would be impossible to name them all. To say a mere thank you is not enough. We all received a goodie bag filled with beads, tools and patterns and I, personally plan to make good use of them. Then to provide snow was a bonus we hadn't anticipated. How nice of you. It was a beautiful venue and endlessly entertaining.

Of course, no thank you would be complete without mentioning Pam, Beki and Shawn. Pam, I know you and Beki worked unceasingly to provide us with the ultimate in retreats. You succeeded very well. Beki, thank you for sharing your beloved Shawn with all of us. I don't know what we would have done without him. It was so nice to touch bases with Russell again and to get to know Joanna and all the rest of the retreat planners. You all gave us a rare treat and deserve our thanks.

While at the retreat, I was able to share with others about one of my other passions. The Bead
Journal Project. I've been a part of it for two years now and have signed up for a third year. It is such a fun way to share with others and make them a part of your life. Robin Atkins started it in 2007 to encourage beaders to share their feelings and work with others. I hope she knows how much good it has been for so many of us. I can't encourage you enough to look into joining us in January. Go to: Beadjournalproject.com. to learn about it and sign up for next year. Whether you are a beginning beader or an expert, there is something for all in the BJP.

Just as soon as I get my new printer up and running, I will post pics from the retreat.

Happy Beading!