Shopping

I met my friend, Catherine, at Fabric Depot yesterday, and we shopped. She is going to do an embellisher club at our dealer, so my purchases were for that. The two types of hand needles plus packages of extra needles in two sizes.
I also chose two styles of the many molds that are available to use with the needles. The group will start in the fall and will be very good.

Jewelry

The lower portion with the donuts is a bracelet that I made from magazine directions. It was always too big, so I didn't wear it. Changing it would have been a pain. One day it hit me that I could add another bracelet and wear it as a necklace-much better. The other bracelet is made from peyote stitch beads. I've made them in lots of colors to wear together.

Take It Further

This is the finished purse for the Take It Further Challenge started by Sharonb http://sharonb.wordpress.com The blue ribbons are antiqued and were purchased on a trip with 3 friends. The beaded trim was given to me by another friend. It is lined with yellow satin-the other color in this month's scheme. The button is an antique from my collection.

Jewelry

This is the bracelet I made this week. It is based on a design in a book, but I added more stuff-like things more embellished. I used Nymo D again, because I have such a supply of it, and the other bracelets made with it have held together just fine through the years. The popular style of beading thread has changed through the years from fishing line-which deteriorates-to Nymo-first B then D, to Kevlar-which they found is too strong and cuts through the work-to Sylamide to Fireline.

Jewelry

Last Wednesday I got together with friends and showed them how to make a basic necklace. Here is the one I made.

This is what you can do, if you twist 3 of them together. If you make them in lots of colors, you can have any combinations that enhances your outfit. It's fun, and everyone thinks you have made a complex beading project.

Quiltie

This month's theme for the quiltie exchange for Unlimited Textiles is Fantasy. I think marbling fabric is like a fantasy. You never know what you will get.

This piece is from some marbling I did in California when another woman and I marbled and sold garments made from the fabrics. It is machine quilted and hand beaded.

Take It Further, Paint

Here is the next step in this month's TIF challenge organized by Sharonb http://sharonb.wordpress.com/ It will be a purse. The ribbons are stitched down by machine. The beaded fringe was given to me by a good friend. It was the inspiration.

I'm taking Playing with Paint from Electric Quilt University http://www.QuiltUniversity.com taught by Lyric Kinard. Here are two samples from Lesson 1. The blue one had plastic wrap over it as it dried. The other dried on a meat tray that had a pattern. I like how it transfer to the fabric.

Calendar Girls

Here is the next Calendar Girls postcard. The background is hand painted, the vase Ultrasuede with pearl beads. The flowers are bigger beads with seed bead centers. The leaves and stems hand stitched.

Bead Journal Project

The final month has arrived. I've done all 12 and enjoyed the trip. Now I need to mount them as a book.

The inspiration for this piece is a vest I had a number of years ago. It was in Belle Armoire but photographed navy(?). The beading circles are done on wool felt, cut out and then applied to the vest. I used it as a sample for classes-both beading and one I called stress free designing, because you can move the pieces around until you like the layout. As usual, I did things backwards. Aren't you supposed to do the small piece before the big one?

Gift, Journal

Look what came in my mail! I'm so lucky and love this journal from Sueb http://suebleiweiss.typepad.com/ The colors are mine, so it is perfect. Now I need a special thing to do in it.

Here is another journal that I made taking off from the last lesson in Sue's journal class. The glittery stuff is Diffraction Foil which is normally used in detailing cars. I hear it is no longer available in small quantities. Luckily, I still have some from when I worked for Aardvark Adventures. It is adhesive backed and easy to cut. It did jam the punch though.

Here is the inside. The pages on the right are sewn in with waxed linen, so I can replace them if necessary with clean ones.

Gifts

The mail was wonderful yesterday. Here is my postcard from Carol M http://textiletales.blogspot.com/ We are part of the group called Calendar Girls http://calendargirls2008.blogspot.com/ and exchange a postcard each month based on a calendar from Doreen http://doreeng.blogspot.com/ She used Tyvek with printing on it for the background. There's a sheer over it and that wonderful pocket. The heart is foiled vilene.

Here is the Quiltie based on an Egyptian theme that I received from Suz in a Yahoo group called Unlimited Textiles.

Sorry I don't have a blog link for her. The background is lame and cheesecloth stitched with paper clay motifs rubber stamped with Egyptians images-very nice.

Paint, Take It Further

I finally had a chance to try an idea I've had for a long time using Brusho paints that I got from The Thread Studio http://www.thethreadstudio.com/ in Australia. Using a small spoon that is for embossing powders, I dropped tiny bits of the dry granules onto wet paper. Then I used a foam brush to pull out some of the paint along the outside of my main design. I sure like what happened. Be careful when you try it. A blog is easy to drop and dries without spreading. I had to brush it off another sample but did it over wet paper to get full use of the paint.

Here is my selection for the next Take It Further Challenge organized by Sharonb http://sharonb.wordpress.com As usual I will be doing the color scheme-just not a concept person. This will be a purse.

Carol Clasper http://carolclasper.blogspot.com has given me this award. Thank you Carol.

Arte Y Pico is at: http://arteypico.blogspot.com
There are 5 rules attached to this:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and that also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte Y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules.

I read many blogs and float in and out of even more, inspired by most of them. To pick 5 would be impossible, and I would hate to hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them out. So I give the award to all the great art blogs out there.