I know, I know... I'm making excuses

Facebook has taken up the time I used to spend blogging... Wait. That's a silly statement. I am on facbook W-A-Y more than I ever was on my blog! It's just SO EASY and I am happy to touch base with a lot of friends a little bit at a time. I am going to try to use this blog a bit more, so... we'll see if I can handle it. Stay tuned.

My fortune cookie told me: 'Out of confusion comes new patterns.' Some of my best stuff starts in a state of confusion!

I can't seem to send pictures from my phone to my blog... That's disappoiinting.

Does this really WORK? I can send a text to my blog?

I remember this place...

Wow... It's been forever since I posted to this blog. I am having so much fun on facebook, that I kind of stopped coming here! I have been doing some projects that might be better served here than on FB, but I will link things up... or is that "sync?"

Introducing... Zeke!

This is Zeke's "Look out world, here I come" face!

Wide awake and ready to roll!

Time has flown!

If you are my friend on Facebook, you know that I have a new puppy! I found a wonderful pup (now four months old) at the Humane Society of Huron Valley - part German Shepherd, and part Rottweiler, and perhaps, parts of other wonderful breeds. He is very talkative, and seems to feel the need to get the last word. With me as his mom, this is going to be a lifelong battle! But I AM ALPHA! He is very smart and is growing fast. The whole family loves him... even when he nibbles a little too hard, or chews up a flip-flop...

Stony Creek Bead is celebrating! May 1oth is our 5th "birthday!" That time sure went by fast! Business is great - thanks to all of our customers! Now, on to the next five... and beyond!

I am ready for some serious beading. Working at the shop full-time (six days a week,) raising a new pup, and spending w-a-y too much time on Facebook, all have cut into my creative beading time. I am in the planning stages for a new embroidery project!

Tree root in the River Raisin

Several times each summer, I kayak the River Raisin, just north of Manchester (Michigan.) This huge tree root has been in the river for the past few years - beautiful, and FULL of spider webs!

I am inspired by the silvery color of the aged wood - thoughts are brewing about a new jewelry piece...

Portrait

This shot was my profile picture on facebook for a while around the time of Christmas '09. It's a bit grainy because it was from a cell phone. Sparkling Swarovski crystal earrings in bright red - perfect for the holiday!

New Year - New Challenges

Happy New Year! Winter in Michigan is beautiful - but the cold weather makes me want to stay inside and play with beads. I'm planning my next large bead embroidery project, and I think it's going to be very 3-D. Beads attached to a flat surface, but rising up from there... Hmmmm... probably Spring flowers.

I'm also working on several necklace designs that use simple techniques, but pack a big punch. Great for intermediate beaders, and using some unusual materials.

I'm getting very excited about the shop's buying trip to Tucson in February. It's a lot of work (beads are heavy!) but the inspiration! Eye candy! New tools! Color overload! Ah-h-h-h! I love it.

Christmas 2009

Time is flying by, and it's Christmas again in a few days! Wow, this year went by too fast!

In a few short weeks, Jenn and I will be in Tucson, Arizona, on the yearly big buying trip for the shop. I'm hoping to visit some cousins while I'm there, but the main goal is aquiring more beads and cools stuff for Stony Creek Bead. I haven't been in two years so I am looking forward to it!

Happy New Year!

Great Lakes Memories

This is the Collaboration project that Susan Matych-Hager and I worked on. Susan is an outstanding glass bead maker. The name of the project is Great Lakes Memories, or Two Sues - Two Great Lakes!

During the month of November 2009, it is on display at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale.

Collaboration Project - Great Lakes Memories

Here is just a section of my latest bead embroidery project. "Great Lakes Memories" will be part of a show at Lawrence St. Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan, during November '09. This bead embroidered collar was made with Susan Matych-Hager's beautiful glass beads, lots of seed beads, crystal quartz, and shells.

I will post a full view of this after the Gallery show opening.

What's up with my FEET???

I seem to have a foot thing going here... I wonder what THAT'S about??? Things often happen in threes, so there might be another coming soon.

Late Afternoon at the Beach

Mid-july, I was wandering the shoreline at Tawas Point State Park, taking pictures with my cell phone camera. Just last week I learned how to get those pic OUT of my phone and to my email... then save the the hard drive, then add to the blog. Wow... the technology!!!

Great Michigan Summer

This is where I hang out - on my front porch overlooking the garden - in my sky chair. This chair is a great invention of canvas and thick wood dowels and it feels like a floating recliner, complete with foot rest. It's been such beautiful weather all summer... up to the last week or so, when the real August weather kicked in - high humidity and high temps.

Lazy, Crazy DAZE of Summer???

I have always looked forward to Summer Vacation. The few years in my life that I've held a 9-5 job, I was shocked every summer when my boss told me that I wouldn't get a few months off. The nerve of that guy!

With my youngest daughter having just graduated from high school, I was thinking about how many years my life has centered around the September-to-June school year.

Like most of us, I started kindergarten at five-years-old; graduated at just-about-eighteen. A year later, got married to Bob, who was in school every semester, then five years later, our daughter Jennifer started kindergarten.

Those who know me, know that my kids were born with seven and twelve years separating them. I was 19 when Jennifer was born, she was seven when Katherine was born; Katherine was 12 when Stephanie was born. (So Jenn was 19.)

The point of this? I have been living around a school schedule for 51 years! I have visions of me wandering through the school supplies isle at Meijer and Staples and feeling bereft!?! I'll probably take home a new box of crayons and some filler paper... and I don't even need them!

Now, it's true that Stephanie will be headed for college, but it won't be like I'm totally responsible for that. I can now take a vacation ANY TIME OF THE YEAR that I choose. Hey! This getting older ain't so bad!

Collaboration Project

The Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild and the Southeast Michigan Glass Beadmakers Guild (aka Glass Act) have joined together for the 2009 Collaboration Project. Members from each group will be paired with the goal of making beautiful art jewelry from beautiful handmade beads.

Margaret Sutherland, beadmaker, is organizing the effort. The theme of "Water All Around Us" was chosen - perfect for the state of Michigan! The finished projects will be shown at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale during November 2009 in juried/judged exhibit.

Susan Matych-Hager (Hager Studios) and I are excited to work together. Susan grew up on Bear Lake near Lake Michigan, and my family's vacation home is in East Tawas, which is on Lake Huron. We both have wonderful memories of hours spent on and near the water.

When we started bouncing ideas around, I said I would like to see the more muted tones - sand, hazy blue sky, sea gull gray, and green reeds. I remember one small yellow flower... Susan remembers tiny iris and thistles...

What really impresses me is Susan's response to my suggestions: "I can do that!" And she does. I have the COOLEST beads to work with. Susan is a phenomenal bead artist and I can hardly wait to get started! A few days ago we had lunch together and she handed me a boxful of excellent beads and my mind has been humming.

I've been itching to get started, but the priority has been my youngest daughter, Stephanie. She graduated from Lincoln High School last night - Hoo Yah, girl!!!! Now the real fun begins!

Spring is here! Daffodils, forsythia, tulips, Korean Spice viburnum. Yellow finches, robins, and (those darn) cowbirds, too. It's pretty, and noisy, and it smells good outside! Soon it will be kayaking weather!

Winter Storm

My previous post (one month ago) told of the first "real" snow of the 2008-2009 Winter Season. That was an appetizer of what has been happening today! It's not officially Winter for two more days, but we've had about eight new inches of snow since 4:00 this morning. It's going to be a long, long Winter if it keeps up like this.

I guess that just means I'll be spending more time inside beading! Maybe I'll catch up on a few projects, or think up some new ones...