I just made the trek from Dallas, Texas to Richmond Hill, Georgia. Richmond Hill is about a half hour south of Savannah. I've taken on the challenge of being a live-in Nanny for a month or so. The baby in question is my newest grandson, Jay Jay. He is cute as a button - could he be anything else? Jay Jay is 2 months old and is everything anyone could wish for in a baby that age. I count myself fortunate in being able to take this much time and spend it with him while his momma goes back to work. It is such a tough decision for her to have to make, so I want to be as much help for her as possible.
Meanwhile deciding what to take and what to leave behind was no fun. I mean, I know I need the wire, oh and the cabs, and definitely the crystals, and then there's seed beads. Oh, I also need to make sure I've packed all the stuff I have up for sale on Etsy (the hubster could NEVER have found it). Eeeks! the camera, and the photo cube, and where did my MP3 player go? I was just about to walk out the door and DH was rattling off a huge list of did you takes... my pillow!! No way can I sleep for a month or more without my special pillow. Whew, dodged a bulllet that time! Tutorials? Hmmmm, a few...
To say the least, this time away from home and the bead stash is going to be interesting. My goal is to use what I brought with me and to not purchase any additional beads. We'll see how that goes. :)
Betty
Monday, March 15, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Challenges of Having Too Many Loves
At the moment my love, my passion, is torn between four loves, any one of which could be all absorbing if my attention weren’t so easily diverted. As if only one wasn't enough!
Passion 1: The first of the four would have to be quilting. I know, I know – it’s old fashioned, it’s “fiddly”, it’s passé. Ah but it is none of those things. Just ask the new crop of quilters what they think about quilting and I think you would be surprised. They bring a new, fresh point of view to a wonderful, traditional art. I’ve dabbled in quilting for about the past 10 years or so. Back then I thought that this would be an economical way to “re-purpose” clothing no longer needed, a way to add blankets at a minimal cost, a way to share an activity with a teenager. I look back now and think wow! I didn’t get a single one of my concepts right! First of all, in a “perfect” quilting world, nothing is used other than 100% cotton. Unwanted clothing goes to charities – not the fabric stash. Oh yes, the fabric stash. The idea is that about 2 yards of each fabric that catches one’s fancy is purchased and then “stashed” until needed. After filling up half my closet with fabric, and the fabric costs running up like an old fashioned Wall Street ticker tape, I figured it was time to make a quilt. Then of course, there’s the getting closer to the teenager thought. Nice thought. Brave thought. Wrong thought. Well, not completely wrong, but definitely misguided. Come to find out, my dear, sweet teenager didn’t have a crafty bone in her body. Could not draw a straight line with a ruler, or cut straight, nor could she sew a straight line. Sigh. I had much, much work to do. We finally came to a compromise. I would make the quilt and she would ooh and aah appropriately. Works for us.
Passion #2: Then there’s making wire wrapped jewelry. For someone who tends to be “number challenged”, wire wrapping was a God send. (Since banking became available on line, I haven’t had to balance a checkbook in years!! This is me doing the happy dance!) So the thought of a hobby that seemed to feature a method that didn’t require keeping track of a repetition sequence, was alluring. The fact that it was relatively fast and the results gorgeous was a bonus. Okay, mostly gorgeous. All right – once in a while gorgeous. The problem with being able to whip out a pendant or bracelet or ring in an hour or so was that my inventory started growing and I had no clients and, let’s face it, I only have a limited number of places on my body to wear my jewelry. And since I was buying sterling silver wire, this growing inventory constituted a bit of a financial problem, too. So I started looking for things that were more intricate, took more time.
Passion #3: I joined a bead society, the Wild West Bead Society. Beading very quickly became a new passion! This is a group of people who enjoy making jewelry whether it’s beaded with little tiny beads, strung with big beads, wire wrapped or just interested in learning some techniques. I was introduced to seed beads. The enemy. The beads that were so small they took FOREVER to finish a project. And more likely than not, the beads had to be counted. But, brave soul that I am, I gave it a try. Okay. I decided seed beads are okay. Then in true crafter fashion, I tried to buy every color of seed bead under the rainbow. Unless a person owns a bead store, this goal is financially not achievable. But, I put my foot down at working with the 15’s. I am NOT going to try those microscopic size 15 beads. It took about two years, but I have to confess to owning a small collection of size 15 seed beads. My mission of finding something to do that took more time was definitely accomplished! For someone who has the attention span of a gnat, this was a major accomplishment.
Passion #4: making chain maille jewelry. I discovered copper wire and how to clean it so that it sparkled like a new penny. Oh my gosh! This is great – I can make my own jump rings. Finally, I can save some money instead of spending a small fortune. Ah, the thought was a good one. After investing in the mandrels for winding the wire (I had to have a complete set you know), the set up rig to actually cut the wire, once again the cost of my hobby is starting to look like the national debt. But I was undeterred – I just wanted to learn this new weave. The DVD was only $25! And oh rats, I need another blade for the cutter. Those are just $10 each. Hmmmm, I’d really like to try this one in silver, but the silver spot price just took a massive jump. Expensive hobby? It could be, but I’m using copper! Then I look longingly at the gold filled wire section on the internet and wipe the drool from my keyboard. Yeah. Someday.
So if you ever visit my home be very careful if you ever utter the words, “gee, I’m bored”. It may not be something you thought you wanted to do, but you most definitely would no longer be bored!!
Passion 1: The first of the four would have to be quilting. I know, I know – it’s old fashioned, it’s “fiddly”, it’s passé. Ah but it is none of those things. Just ask the new crop of quilters what they think about quilting and I think you would be surprised. They bring a new, fresh point of view to a wonderful, traditional art. I’ve dabbled in quilting for about the past 10 years or so. Back then I thought that this would be an economical way to “re-purpose” clothing no longer needed, a way to add blankets at a minimal cost, a way to share an activity with a teenager. I look back now and think wow! I didn’t get a single one of my concepts right! First of all, in a “perfect” quilting world, nothing is used other than 100% cotton. Unwanted clothing goes to charities – not the fabric stash. Oh yes, the fabric stash. The idea is that about 2 yards of each fabric that catches one’s fancy is purchased and then “stashed” until needed. After filling up half my closet with fabric, and the fabric costs running up like an old fashioned Wall Street ticker tape, I figured it was time to make a quilt. Then of course, there’s the getting closer to the teenager thought. Nice thought. Brave thought. Wrong thought. Well, not completely wrong, but definitely misguided. Come to find out, my dear, sweet teenager didn’t have a crafty bone in her body. Could not draw a straight line with a ruler, or cut straight, nor could she sew a straight line. Sigh. I had much, much work to do. We finally came to a compromise. I would make the quilt and she would ooh and aah appropriately. Works for us.
Passion #2: Then there’s making wire wrapped jewelry. For someone who tends to be “number challenged”, wire wrapping was a God send. (Since banking became available on line, I haven’t had to balance a checkbook in years!! This is me doing the happy dance!) So the thought of a hobby that seemed to feature a method that didn’t require keeping track of a repetition sequence, was alluring. The fact that it was relatively fast and the results gorgeous was a bonus. Okay, mostly gorgeous. All right – once in a while gorgeous. The problem with being able to whip out a pendant or bracelet or ring in an hour or so was that my inventory started growing and I had no clients and, let’s face it, I only have a limited number of places on my body to wear my jewelry. And since I was buying sterling silver wire, this growing inventory constituted a bit of a financial problem, too. So I started looking for things that were more intricate, took more time.
Passion #3: I joined a bead society, the Wild West Bead Society. Beading very quickly became a new passion! This is a group of people who enjoy making jewelry whether it’s beaded with little tiny beads, strung with big beads, wire wrapped or just interested in learning some techniques. I was introduced to seed beads. The enemy. The beads that were so small they took FOREVER to finish a project. And more likely than not, the beads had to be counted. But, brave soul that I am, I gave it a try. Okay. I decided seed beads are okay. Then in true crafter fashion, I tried to buy every color of seed bead under the rainbow. Unless a person owns a bead store, this goal is financially not achievable. But, I put my foot down at working with the 15’s. I am NOT going to try those microscopic size 15 beads. It took about two years, but I have to confess to owning a small collection of size 15 seed beads. My mission of finding something to do that took more time was definitely accomplished! For someone who has the attention span of a gnat, this was a major accomplishment.
Passion #4: making chain maille jewelry. I discovered copper wire and how to clean it so that it sparkled like a new penny. Oh my gosh! This is great – I can make my own jump rings. Finally, I can save some money instead of spending a small fortune. Ah, the thought was a good one. After investing in the mandrels for winding the wire (I had to have a complete set you know), the set up rig to actually cut the wire, once again the cost of my hobby is starting to look like the national debt. But I was undeterred – I just wanted to learn this new weave. The DVD was only $25! And oh rats, I need another blade for the cutter. Those are just $10 each. Hmmmm, I’d really like to try this one in silver, but the silver spot price just took a massive jump. Expensive hobby? It could be, but I’m using copper! Then I look longingly at the gold filled wire section on the internet and wipe the drool from my keyboard. Yeah. Someday.
So if you ever visit my home be very careful if you ever utter the words, “gee, I’m bored”. It may not be something you thought you wanted to do, but you most definitely would no longer be bored!!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Betty's Beaderie Blog Begins!
Hmmm, that title has a bit of a ring to it, don't you think? But that is exactly what this is, it is a new beginning.
What's going on in my world? A good bit actually. This coming weekend I'll be leaving the Dallas area to stay with my son's family for about six weeks until he gets back from Iraq. We will all be so relieved to have him stateside. This is his third tour of duty in Iraq - we are all ready for the conflicts in the Middle East to be done and over!
Recently I found a tutorial for the cutest seahorse I've ever seen. It utilizes a spike technique. It took a bit of seriously chewed up wire until I was able to control the loop size. But the end result is just as precious as can be. The first one is in copper and in a larger gauge size than the author recommended, but he turned out beautiful. Here he is posed with a gem tree.
This little guy measures about 3.5 inches from the top of his coronet to the tip of his tail. I will have him listed for sale in my Etsy shop: http://bettysbeaderie.etsy.com (gem tree not included). Or if you are crafty and would like to purchase the tutorial, please visit www.jewelrylessons.com and visit the creator: Carmen Barrera.
Another bit of wirework I've been playing with is my collection, "Dew Drops on Leaves". The picture below shows just the bracelet. I've done this particular set in copper wire with clear glass fringe drops. I'm currently working on a revision of this bracelet in gold fill. It will be available on my website as soon as it's finished.
And now, I've got to get busy deciding which beads to take with me and which to leave home. Ugh!
What's going on in my world? A good bit actually. This coming weekend I'll be leaving the Dallas area to stay with my son's family for about six weeks until he gets back from Iraq. We will all be so relieved to have him stateside. This is his third tour of duty in Iraq - we are all ready for the conflicts in the Middle East to be done and over!
Recently I found a tutorial for the cutest seahorse I've ever seen. It utilizes a spike technique. It took a bit of seriously chewed up wire until I was able to control the loop size. But the end result is just as precious as can be. The first one is in copper and in a larger gauge size than the author recommended, but he turned out beautiful. Here he is posed with a gem tree.
This little guy measures about 3.5 inches from the top of his coronet to the tip of his tail. I will have him listed for sale in my Etsy shop: http://bettysbeaderie.etsy.com (gem tree not included). Or if you are crafty and would like to purchase the tutorial, please visit www.jewelrylessons.com and visit the creator: Carmen Barrera.
Another bit of wirework I've been playing with is my collection, "Dew Drops on Leaves". The picture below shows just the bracelet. I've done this particular set in copper wire with clear glass fringe drops. I'm currently working on a revision of this bracelet in gold fill. It will be available on my website as soon as it's finished.
And now, I've got to get busy deciding which beads to take with me and which to leave home. Ugh!
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