Notecards

I recently saw a picture on a blog that I really liked. Well, there were a lot I really liked but there was one that said "gotta have it for my daughter" so I inquired about it and was able to purchase the painting as notecards. I was really lucky because Monette who sells these from her shop on Etsy called Shiny Designs also sent with the packet of bunny cards, a couple of her wonderful birds on notecards. Doesn't she do lovely work. With Christmas coming up you might think about stopping in for some reasonably priced gifts most people would love.

I just sent one of the cards off with a package to my son. I
needed to enclose a note and he likes art and nature so I am hoping he'll appreciate this card too.

I just love that little bunny. You really did a great job Monette.

Veteran's Day

I have seen a few blogs that have shared stories for Veteran's Day and thought I'd add a few of my own. Grace has an excellent story and some artifacts so I'd go over and check it out if I were you. Also check out pics and artifacts over at Margaret Ann's blog .

My family is mostly veteran's of one war or another or have served time in the military. My grandfather's were in WWI where one lost a lung due to mustard gas. The other served with Theodore Roosevelt and was in the Spanish American war riding up San Juan Hill with Teddy as cavalry soldiers back when the cavalry rode horses. They still have the cavalry soldiers, just not the horses.

My parents were both veterans of WWII. My mom was a truck driver for the marines and served at Miramar Air Base making roads. It was a man's job but the men were "over there" so the women filled in. Her biggest peeve over equality (which didn't exist) was when she waited for a train to come in to pick up marines and the Red Cross would not let her have a donut and coffee. It was only for the male soldiers!

My dad served in the army. He fought the Japanese over in all the islands of the Pacific with the most notable being Leyte in the Philippines. He had a tough time as he often had to skip gunfights for hand-to-hand combat. He said the Japanese would herd women and children in front of them for protection so the U.S. soldiers would wait for the women and children to pass and then fight with their bayonets. The (I think it was the 7th Infantry but I could be wrong) has a patch to this day that bears a bayonet on it in honor of their fighting. There was a time when he had to steal his own rations from the base camp as they didn't have the proper paper work for them (everyone with papers and most others kept getting killed off). He received a Purple Heart for a stab wound to the neck. He said the going mode of operandi was take no prisoners, and don't become one. Fighting to the death was the only kind he knew. At one time (my brother has the photo or I'd share it) the soldiers had to wear white patches on their backs. The reason was that anyone without white showing was a target for shooting and it eliminated anyone from turning around to retreat. My brother-in-law never believed dad's story saying the U.S. wouldn't shoot their own but then we found the picture and yep, they would. But to be fair, I think the fighting was so hellish, it was hard not to turn and run at times. When he came home, his sister said he showed up at the door looking like the people shown in the Aushwitz pictures. Dad was almost starved both by lack of rations and not being able to eat due to flies everywhere after a battle going from dead bodies to his food. He just could not eat it then. (Yes, war is hell! That's why I can't stomach the idea of a pre-emptive one).

Next generation - my brothers-in-law and my husband served during the Vietnam era. My husband (I didn't know him quite yet) helped load the big guns on the ship he was on and lost part of his hearing. One brother-in-law went up the rivers in a small boat as Senator Kerry did. One was in the marines and spent one tour on the ground over there. He was a truck driver (yep, like my mom) and said the vietnamese women would sometimes throw their babies under the tires in order to get money from the U.S. government. Before judging them, I would guess they didn't have food or money to care for the rest of their family so took this as hopefully, a last resort. One brother-in-law joined but wasn't called to serve in Vietnam but he served his 20 and finally retired. A cousin of mine was trained to de-arm bombs that didn't go off and just before we pulled out of the war, he ran out of his luck and is now buried in Fort Rosecrans Cemetery. Just after the war ended my sister followed my mom into the marines. My brother followed in my dad's footsteps and joined the army from which he is now retired.

I was set to join the army nursing corps but met my husband and that's the way that story ended. I mention this as you are probably wondering why I didn't serve!

Now, the latest generation is serving in Iraq. My nephew has had three tours in Iraq following one in Afghanistan. He's had three kids in between tours and is finally safe at home with them. He just got home and should be for a long time now as he will become an instructor at a Ranger school in Fort Benning Georgia. He received a bronze star in his second tour in Iraq and has lost some of his friends over there. My son also served in between the Gulf War and Iraq. He served 8 years in the navy in the nuclear power field aboard an aircraft carrier. I also had another nephew, the oldest of the bunch who served in the navy for 6 years aboard a non-nuclear sub.


I thank all who do their duty as veterans and unpopularly, I also salute those who resist war in a truly pacifist notion. Getting out of serving by going to college doesn't earn my respect. So many did this during Vietnam, especially the people with lots of money. No sir, I don't respect letting someone serve in your place because you have the money to avoid it (and that goes for President Bush who served where it was least likely to produce a trip to Vietnam). But real war protesters who are willing to leave their country or go to jail in protest I can understand because war is hell and should be avoided. Sometimes it can't and we have to do the best we can but choosing not to do all that was possible to win in Viet Nam and opting for a war we didn't have to have in Iraq are inexcusable reasons to have our soldiers killed and wounded.

Creativity

I saw this video as a link on another blog. I hope I can get it here. I really don't know how these things work so I just have to try it and see.



If this doesn't work then try this.

Good luck. If you can get to it it's funny and informative too.

ATC Swap

About a month ago Julie of Mixed Media blog asked me if I'd
like to trade ATC's. We settled on fabric as the basis. I made her the beaded moon ATC shown at right. The green fabric is hand dyed by Grace of Barnyard Chatter (I'd previously used some here.) I enjoyed making this for Julie but I think I got the best end of the stick! Look at what she sent me.

She sent me a note on handmade paper. That's always nice to feel and even to repurpose later.

Then she sent me a Celtic prayer. I really like those. Julie, my maiden name is O'Keefe and my grandfather was born in Ireland - came over to the U.S. as a baby.

Then she sent me a packet of buttons, beads and charms! I saw a couple of orange buttons in the packet that will find their way onto my November BJP page as orange is the color for this month.

And last but the best by far, much better than what I
sent her, is the ATC she sent. She titled it The Beach at St. Ives, Cornwall. Isn't it beautiful? Seashells and sea shards along with embroidery and beads, needle felting , or maybe it's what is called embellishing and rust-dyed fabric make up the surface. She used wire to wrap the shards to keep them on the surface. I just love this. I feel the ocean through this piece Julie. You really are an artist.

Well, Christmas may still be more than a month away but I felt like it showed up in my mailbox today! Thanks Julie.

An Award!

I have received an award from Cheryl of Scrappy Cat blog. I am supposed to pick four people now to forward the award to but as is my usual practice, I am not doing so. I really don't know who I would pick as ALL the blogs I go to are special - or I wouldn't go to them.

People who come to my blog will enjoy more Cheryl's blog. She does fiber arts, book reviews plus some other things as they come up. Drop by; I'm sure she'd love a visit.

Thank you Cheryl.

October BJP08

I've finished both versions of my October page, the larger one which I started first and found out was the wrong size and the newer, smaller one which is correct. I call them "On the Wild Side" as the frog, ladybug and square beads seem to suggest.

This month was yellow orange on my colorwheel theme. I used the square beads which I received from Grace of Gracebeading, a piece of sea glass on the larger page which is a gift from some litter bug and the sea, three medium size beads in the bugle part of the fans on the small page which were gifted by my grandchildren one Christmas and a frog bead.

The frog bead was made by myself out of a smashed bottle cap "gifted" by my husband, a piece of paper and an old, used, vinyl frog sticker. I glued the items on the cap and then coated them with a resin glaze by Deco Art. I punched holes in the two ends so I could stitch it down. Actually, the other side is the side I was trying to use as an experiment with the resin but this side worked for my page.

I used Robin's paper backing idea for stitching these and then glued some thick pellon to the back, folded and glued the fabric to the back side and also glued a piece of ultra suede to the back (not all the way to the edge so a needle could still get through) before adding the beaded edging.

I am happy with the way they both turned out. The big one looked a bit plain but after I added the cross stitching to "sew it all up" I was a lot happier.

Tagged Again!

This is the second time I've been tagged recently. I don't know if I have any more secrets to share! I was tagged by Arline who was double tagged herself. Note: In the time since I started thinking about and writing this post, I have been tagged again by Sunni so I get another twofer)!Maybe I should just refer everyone to my last tag post - nah, I don't want to be a party pooper so,



Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog



Since blogger hasn't been good about leaving spaces between paragraphs and such lately, I am switching colors so it's easier to read. Let me know if this isn't working for you.

1. My formal education stopped after one semester of college. I got married! It was a lot more okay to do way back when - 1972.
2. Like Sunni, I have expanded my bead and art supply storage to my too-big bathroom. Hey, my clothes closet is already full - of supplies, not clothes. I think I need my bed put on one of those platforms with drawer space under it but come to think of it, I already have stuff piled underneath it.
3. Hmmm, I've already voted. Have you?
4. I should be on a vegan diet but this year I've gotten to the point I am back to eating meat and too much fat almost every day - and my joints are starting to hurt again. Shhhhh, don't let my son or husband know that. I hate lowfat, vegan diets as I love meat and fried foods like a dinner of deep-fried zucchini, onion rings, mushrooms and chicken strips. Mmmm doesn't that sound good?
5. I've got hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of stuff -- on my wish lists. Do any of you do that too? I no sooner buy a little of it when I see more stuff I need. I think it's a disease!
6. Every year I make my Christmas cards, from scratch one at a time. After 35+ years, I am getting tired of it.
7. I'm getting Photoshop Elements for my birthday from my husband. He was going to surprise me but I wanted to take an online class: Photo-graphic Design 101 from Jessica Wesolek so he's letting me buy it today. Yay. I highly recommend her classes.

Well, that's it. Once again, I am not going to list more people as I see everyone I know is getting tagged. If you haven't been tagged and would like to join in I would love to see what you come up with. I love getting to know the people behind the blogs.

Halloween Inchy

The theme for this week is "Hallowe'en or Samhain". This is my take on the subject. I don't have any stamps or anything at all really connected to Halloween in little doodads so I resorted to drawing a picture. This is drawn on Strathmore charcoal colored paper with Prismacolor pencils. Hope you enjoy it and feel compelled to join us at Inchybyinch with your version of the theme.

Happy Halloween everyone.

Weekly Inchie

This week's inchy challenge was a autumn leaves. I had a stamp that was too large but figured it would still work. I dabbed it with red and yellow chalk inkpads and then used green chalk ink where the stamp didn't hit the paper. I added a tiny bit of glitter and then decided to make it a tile like last week using a thick coating of UTEE. I glued on a gold doodad into the soft UTEE. I've got two tiles now for my mosaic - guess it will be a while for that project!

If you'd like to join us in making inchies, you'll find the info at Inchybyinch.

Weekly Inchie

Hi everyone. I have my inchy for the week done. The theme for this week was "sun". This is my take on it. I used a white square - one inch of course - rubbed on a bit of blue ink, stamped it with a sun stamp and coated it with UTEE to set the pigment ink. I added glitter to the edges and a few beads and there you have it, my version of sun. You can join us by making one of your own and posting it in the comments section at Inchybyinch.

I rather like how this came out with several layers of UTEE melted over all the layers. It's rather like a tile making me think about making some as tiles for a mosaic. Hmmm, well after I get a few more things done!

Face Pin Swap

I received the pin that mine was swapped for. This pin was made by Arline Lewis. Doesn't it have the perfect fall look? I think she'll look really nice on a black turtleneck for Thanksgiving. You can see all the pins that were in the swap at Sassy Art Goddess. They are really wonderful. I think I'm going to sign up for her Yahoo Group so I can do this again next year. Perhaps you'll join me!

Decision Time

Well I have looked at and considered all the suggestions so many of you offered. Mariasangel, I'm sorry but you can't have the large size piece! I really thought about sending it to you but there are too many options still open to me. I liked the idea of keeping the larger one going instead of ripping it out. I really don't like to rip but more than that, I rather liked what I had going!

Alternating the sizes every other month has some merit too with the other idea of adding a background to the smaller ones so they seem as large as the larger ones. That is still an option I will keep in mind. This month my focal bead had been the frog bead I made as a real quickie project due to a question on either Bead and Button or Beading Daily (I can't remember which) where the question was asked about the kind of resin you use. I have on hand some Delta Air-Dry PermEnamel Clear Gloss Glaze which I love and so tried it out on a smashed bottle cap. I did both sides but the side with the frog had yellow orange in it so I thought I would use it. But, it is too big even if I wanted to rip it out to use on the smaller piece and now I wonder if I might run into the "too big" bead again so that's why the alternating sizes is still under consideration.

I like the idea Vivage of using it for October and the other one for November but MY rule is to use the color wheel so that doesn't work. Darn it! But that idea may come in handy for others out there.

Coral seas likes the idea of sticking with the small size as I did well on Septembers in fitting a lot in a small space which is kind of what I was after but then Helene shared that small can sometimes be too small which is what the bead I used this month also says.

I liked Julie's idea of using the small September as a cover page which is a super idea for those who are putting them together in a bookish type of finish but mine are going in a frame (hopefully a polymer clay tile mosaic frame) so that won't work for me. I sure stopped to think about changing my finish though with that suggestion!

So in the end here is what I am going to do. I cut out a smaller version and started working on it to see if I could use beads other than the ones on the larger version and it looks like I can. That means I will be doing both sizes this month. Next month I will start with the small (I think I've learned to measure twice, cut once by now!) and if I have a large bead again, go ahead and make the large version also. Who knows, I may end up with two whole sets at the end of the year! Actually, I think one of the two sizes will eventually win out but if I stitch one of each till then I won't have a lot of catch-up to do and the ones I don't eventually use can become gifts or a part of a new project. I am really glad you didn't all suggest ripping it out since it couldn't be reproduced on the smaller version anyhow.

Thankyou all so much. I hope this problem has given you ideas too for when you make a mistake. In the view of this beading as being journaling, I think keepin' on goin' is really better than a restart. And for those of you new to the BJP you can now see some of the value of being part of the group. Without you I was left with my husband's opinion, one of which he really didn't have! With all of you, I got opinions from people who know beads and know the time involved and feelings tucked into each piece. So again, thank you all so much. I really, truly appreciate all the suggestions and they really did get me moving forward again.

I've Been Tagged Again!

Cheryl from Scrappy Cat has tagged me. I've been tagged before and thought I'd told all my little secrets but here I go again.

The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Well, I've got one and two under control. Hmm, now number 3....weeeellll, okay here goes:

1. I was a republican all my life until after President Bush started a preemptive war. That was my last straw and I am now a full-fledged Democrat.
2. I am taking drawing classes through Jessica of Cre8it! This is a beginner's course that is online. She takes you one small step at a time and I highly recommend it if you've been too afraid to give drawing a real chance.
3. I like to knit socks. Have I mentioned this before? I don't think so as I haven't done much knitting since I started the Bead Journal Project and blogging. Oh yeah, I'm real bad about spending too much time blogging and I still don't get around to all the ones I like to keep track of! Why do we need to sleep?
4. I've written a new poem which I need to illustrate in my poem journal but since I shared that I was going to learn to write poetry I haven't posted on this blog any of the three I have come up with so I'll share one at the end of this list.
5. I've discovered Marie Callendar TV dinners. Yep, I know they've been around for years but they have always been too expensive. At today's prices for stuff though and the fact they've been on sale for $2 - 2.50 I've given them a try and found them to contain real food. Really! They have real food in them. I had to give up on Banquet and all the rest because a person can only eat so much rubber and sawdust and I was at my limit!
6. I'm lazy. That's why I like TV dinners and canned soup so much. Well, maybe I'm just lazy at cooking and housecleaning as I like to do my art stuff. Is some lazy okay? Am I chasing anyone away from my blog yet? "Aaaah, that freebird is too crazy for me, I gotta get outta here, aaaahhh"? I hope not. I really like you all to visit and leave comments - getting together modern style!

Okay, that poem I was telling you about? Well it's very simple and short but I kind of liked it. It used four key words from the book I am using to learn with. They are poetry, balcony, star and moon. So here goes:

Poetry

Poetry is some pretty elusive stuff

At least to me.

It's like leaning over a balcony reaching for the moon

But getting snagged by a star.

Ha! Who can reach the moon from a balcony anyhow?

Might as well go cook dinner and leave poetry to the dreamers.

Well, that's it. I hope to draw a picture to go with it and I will keep working on trying to write some nice poetry.

I am now supposed to tag six people --- now don't rush off everyone --- but I am not going to since I've already tagged everyone I know or those who I've tagged have tagged the ones I've missed. Instead I just want to say I hope you've enjoyed your visit here today and hope you will come back again.

My Inchie

The theme for this week's inchy is rain or water. I chose to use dewdrops on a flower. The flower is drawn with Prismacolor pencils on a dark gray/blue background. If you'd like to try one just use a 1 inch format and in any medium depict something about water or rain. Then post a link at the Inchybyinch blog so everyone can see what you've done. It's easy, fits every style of art and it's fun. C'mon and try one!

Uh oh!

Well I certainly have put myself into a pickle of a problem. I am hoping someone has a suggestion for me. My September page was 1/2 the size of an ATC. I like how it turned out. So, I got ready for my October page. Traced my template, picked out some beads and I began stitching. I like how this page is coming along but today I discovered something.

This page is full ATC sized!! Uh oh, now what do I do? Do I start this over and use a lot less beads? It will really change. Can I alter September's page? I have it sewn (and glued) to ultra-suede so there is a lot of thickness involved here with beads, fabric, Stiff Stuff and Ultra Suede so I wonder about sewing it to something bigger. Could I do some peyote or brick stitch around the edges? Or should I just go and start October over? Help! All suggestions are welcome.

I can't believe I did this. Okay, yes I can. I do silly things like this all the time. I get going and somehow manage to turn my brain off until halfway through and sometimes even till a project is done. I was trying so hard to be organized. Phooey.