BTW: Raspberry & Marigold

I'm getting ready for my Painting with Fire post on Saturday so those beads are out on the table right now.  I'm going to work on projects featuring these big rounds...don't know where I'm going to head with them, but I want to try to incorporate some of my paper beads, too.  I love the combinations of raspberry and blue next to the pink and marigold.  

They're not exactly "fall" colors so we'll see how inspired I can get!  For my Saturday post, I'm going to show off how I set up my little torch-centric workspace in my tiny apartment kitchen...you can do this kind of flamework anywhere!

Check out the Bead Table Wednesday Flickr Group!

BTW: Makin' Some Beads

Since I'd generally consider myself a bead "user" more than a bead "maker" I'm thrilled with the results of my first special paper beads and want to share what's on my bead table/kitchen table on this Wednesday update.  I posted over the weekend about the fun I was having with the gorgeous colors in India Ink and just going to town with different palettes.  The last couple of evenings have been kinda late ones at work, so I used sitting quietly at the table playing with scissors and glue as my relaxation method of choice.  Here's my "hint of storm" paper and the resulting beads:

I made just a few beads with some of the papers including a saffron shade, a sunset shade, and a blue-purple shade (that I can't think of a good name for right now...the first thing that came to mind that's blue and purple is a bruise and that's not exactly a good bead name, I'm guessing) along with the stormy rainbows.  It's 0600 and I'm dealing with crappy lighting on the kitchen table but I think they still look awesome.  I have to finish them off with some sealer now that they're all dry.  I may try to list some in my Etsy shop.  :)

I've been wanting to make paper beads since I got my little Paper Bead Girl roller.  I saw the feature for it in BeadStyle magazine in April and found Vicki's little invention in her Etsy shop.  I'm really tickled with how uniform they all came out...I guess using a template to cut the shape actually works, go figure!

There are lots of other tables on display in the Bead Table Wednesday flickr group.

Bead Table Wednesday - Adventures in Resin

For this BTW I'm back on the kitchen counter...the bead table has too much stuff on it to actually work.   I don't often pore over BeadStyle magazine when it comes out, but this month I was inspired by all the resin projects that were a special feature. My friends at Bead Haven--my local shop here in Hampton--felt the same way, so we decided to put together a little resin play time:  Sunday, 26 June, 1-3 p.m.  I decided to work on some samples of the pendants that are possible using a pre-made bezel and simple things like chips or jump rings or little flower bead caps or wire swirls.  

I had this super-sized bezel that I was able to load up with a variety of chips.

Here's a shot of a variety of bezel shapes and sizes (and depths) plus an attempt at using a bracelet mold:

And here's a closer look at the bangle with the little pink "O"s floating in it.  This piece came about mostly because I mixed up too much resin and wanted to find something to do with it, but I recalled a bracelet idea like this from the magazine...it's by Sherri Haab.  It's not perfect--there are quite a few bubbles and I wasn't patient enough to wait and put the rings in so they'd actually be centered on a cured layer of resin but I'm still going to sand this baby up and wear it!

So that's my mess of the day.  Luckily I'm not the only one with stuff spread out and working on this Bead Table Wednesday...there are more of us at this Flickr group.  Oh, and if you can come join us on the 26th, give the shop a call and sign up!

BTW - Working with Art Beads

It's Bead Table Wednesday, so time to share what I have out on my bead table this week.  Since my AF job has become nearly overwhelming I've had scarce time to actually sit and create so this photo is from a few nights ago...the table hasn't changed, though, since then.


First off, a little play with Artisan Clay pendants for this month's design team.  They're lovely rich green and turquoise so I've been having fun matching things with them.  Kristie wrote a post about them this week on her blog.  I'm mixing them with some lampworked glass from Genea...those little striped sprees and some striped glass headpins.  She's getting ready to move her whole household so decided to have a little sale this week in her Etsy shop...if you're not a "bead" person and you're in the mood for jewelry, some of her original designs are on sale, too.

Here's another view of the table...more art beads in the line up.  There are some Barbara Lewis enameled  beads over there on the right piled up with some of Juls' lampworked glass.  I think it's funny how the orange bead selection all got moved to the back of the table.  I was working on a piece inspired by Marcie's Margie & Me inspiration for the month but got frustrated with the simple stringing design I was trying.  So, moved it all over and got into the green!

And the next color in line is blue to match up with some more Artisan Clay charms.  I pulled out lampworked hollow glass beads from Kay Bolden.  She's a local artist from Poquoson so I get my beads from my local bead shop but she has an Etsy shop, too.  The little turquoise & raku bits are from Maryse Thillens of GlassBeadArt.  There is a little set of lampworked rounds in there from SueBeads, too!  I recently reported to my husband that I've slimmed down my bead purchases...I realize this doesn't look like it, but there are all beads that I've gotten over months and months...nothing from May!  haaaaaaaaaa

The rest of my beady friends have laid bare their own bead tables for this regular Wednesday update and you can see them in the BTW flickr group!

BTW in the Kitchen

It's Bead Table Wednesday!  I have a little time this morning to share my exciting kitchen mess...which is where the bead table action has moved as of late.  I'm working on some more pendants with squiggles but this time I'm trying a little color.

It looks like a disaster zone at the moment, but I'm thrilled that I ended up with some good ones.  I have to include this next picture because I live in a small apartment so when I say that the kitchen counter is involved that means the whole apartment is involved.  Thank goodness there are plenty of Cheez-its available to deal with the stress of the mess.

When I drive back and forth to DC to see Curt I stop at Hobby Lobby at the halfway point to break up the drive.  I get really sleepy when driving any distances, even in the broad daylight after a good night's rest.  So, I use crafty shopping as my little helper to get me through the drive.  A couple of weeks ago I struck it rich because these bezels, which I love, were 50% off.  My cart overflowethed. 

Luckily the resin didn't overfloweth too much.  I was so antsy to pour these that I went ahead without the waxed paper that should be underneath to keep them from sticking to the surface of whatever they're on and turning into a mess.  Only one of these had some drips and I caught them in time so nothing ended up with a black back.  

What's on your bead table...or your kitchen counter?

Spring Flowers on my Bead Table

I went in to look at my bead table and see what I could post about for Bead Table Wednesday, but it was too hard to see beads because there's a big cookie sheet filled with paper flowers on top of everything!  Last weekend I had a little burst of energy...not enough to get up off the couch, but enough that I wanted to make something.  So, I grabbed the big containers of paper flowers that I've accumulated along with some of the scrapbooking embellishments I've had for years.  After a couple of hours with DVR'd TV I ended up with a huge garden of pretty paper goodness!!  I don't know what exactly I'll do with them...I'm thinking more paper boxes.  Creating for a purpose is not my strong suite. haaaaaaaa

Oh, these flowers just reminded me of a funny from the other day.  I had lunch with my friend, Jeff.  He's an Air Force officer like me and we've known each other for years and worked on a lot of huge manpower reduction issues together at Big Air Force back then.  We could solve all the problems if people would just take our advice, I'm sure...haaaaaaaaa  Anyway, we ate at the cafeteria over at the NASA side of Langley Air Force Base--I call it the NASAteria--where we eat at least once a week.  While walking back to his office he feels the need to point out the flowers that have burst out around his office.  They were yellow and I couldn't remember what they were called (because my mind was addled by the sugar rush from the whip cream on the cafeteria-style banana cream pie) so he quickly responded "Daffodil" when I asked.  I burst out laughing at his 6'5" bald tough guy look with the details of springtime flora at the top of his mind.  It was just so incongruent...made me laugh all afternoon thinking about it.

BTW: Blue Bead Bunch Giveaway

Bead Table Wednesday means a Bead Table Clearing Giveaway!!

My color of the month has been blue. 

It has been a good color for me, as you'll see in my Bead Soup post on Saturday, but I have been a bit too busy to dig in appropriately and get some blue goods dones or bits of blue beads listed in my Etsy shop.

So, since I gathered this big bunch of blues, I'm sharing with you!!!

It's just one big stash--no splitsies this time.  There are things I've gotten in other giveaways that I'm sharing plus lots of my own random finds.  

Recycled glass, felt, resin, trade beads, lampwork glass, polymer clay, ceramic, vintage glass, stone, crystal, pearl...there has to be at least $100 worth of beads in here and I'm not really even scratching the surface in my blue bead drawers.

The handmade beads that I can identify are from...

Lisa Stevens at Seaurchin ceramics

HMB Studios lampwork glass

Marsha Neal Studio

Everything in here is good...all things I would use myself, if I actually made time to make stuff.  There are even some of my own polymer clay pieces in there.

I'll randomly select a name from the comments on this post, so if you don't have a blog, please leave your address so I can track you down to send you the goods.

I'll draw winners on Monday, 28 February at noon, so I look forward to hearing from you!

Whoo hoo!!!

p.s. 
I'll ship overseas if you don't happen to be here in the CONUS.  (That's Continental United States for you civilians out there...haaaaaaaaa)

Bead Table's Wednesday Blues

I didn't even realize it was Wednesday.  I had a question about it this morning and the only thing that made me realize the day was the tomato soup stain on my uniform shirt.  See, on Monday we wear blues, so I must've had that shirt on at least one day prior to today, so it has to be at least Wednesday and since I know Top Chef wasn't on yet, then I figured out it actually is the middle of the week.  Luckily I figured it out before the 0830 staff meeting in my office--that I'm supposed to lead!  haaaaaaaaaaaa

So, now that's it's the second day of a new month, I figure it's time for me to choose a new color for the blog.  It was easy this month because I took a clue from Judy, my BSBP partner.  She sent me the most amazing blues in my soup treat box.  So, BLUE it is!!  I'm wearing my Bedford Bisons Thundering Herd hoodie sweatshirt, in honor of my cutie nephews, paired with an awesome set of genuine Bedford High School Phys Ed shorts.  All in blue and white!  And I'm drinking a Miller from a blue can, looking at my kitties' blue eyes, resting my feet on my a blue pillow from my old favorite couch that I don't have any more.  More important than all of those things are what's on my scope on this Bead Table Wednesday...

BLUE...glass, wire & beads!!

There are a few different artists represented in this stack:
- Sue Kennedy at SueBeads - the long enameled beads in a gorgeous shade of blue.  Mind you, I bought a few of her latest glass-tipped headpins this morning before finishing my first cup of coffee.
- Brendan Blake at bbglassart - the little boro bead on the right
- Blueseraphim - funky blue rounds that I actually won in an Art Bead Scene challenge last year.
- There's a hollow blue pretty that I got from a blogging bud, Amy, at Copper Diem when we decided to swap some goodness last month.
- And, finally, all those coiled bunches of wire are all inspired by my class last year with Kerry Bogart, the princess of twisting.

So, I'm all in the blues this month...and that's not just the horribly uncomfortable sweater I wear on Mondays!  It's the inspiration of calmness, beauty, and the excitement of seeing loved ones like a husband who's coming home or a favorite 80's rock idol...Curtis vs. Richie Sambora.  It's a rough one!  haaaaaaaaaaa

On the Table: Copper

I'm doing the morning routine:  English muffin, coffee (fresh today, not reheated like usual), Morning Joe on TV, and blog checking.  This is after I've snoozed for too long and am now running a little late...guess I won't have time to shave my legs this morning because my blog buds have reminded me that it's Wednesday!  That means it's time to show off some work in progress on the bead table.  I actually have something in work, so that's a good thing!



There aren't a bunch of beads involved in this one.  I'm working my piece for the ABS January Challenge and it's turning into a one-focal-bead piece with lots of other copper textures thrown in...a little leather, a little ribbon, and lots of chain.  Oh, and 48 different pairs of pliers stacked around the place!  haaaaaaaaaa

I was taught well by my wire mentors, Jeanette Ryan & Kerry Bogart, that practice is key...hence, the stack of practice pieces.  It's probably time to send them in for recycling.


I have to get to work and see if my piece of the Dept of Defense is the part that's going to be downsized.  :)  In the meantime, here are other bead tables around the world on this rainy Wednesday morning:  The BTW Flickr Group.

Bead Table Wednesday

BTW - Shinies, originally uploaded by jenjuddrocks.

It's a little late in the day, but it's still Wednesday so I'm joining the BTW posting party.  Heather of Humblebeads fame came up with the idea and there are already 14 of us in the Flickr group--check out what everyone's working on.

I'm all about the metal flower pieces and the bangle blanks. I can't stop! I've been digging out all the bead caps I haven't used in years--they're perfect to layer with the big flowers petal pieces.

I had a few good hours tonight with my little Reb, so I'll have more pics to post later in the week including the BRIGHT YELLOW challenge I took with Amy F.