Weekend Wrap Up

Well, well, well. I guess it's been a tiny little while since I've last posted on my blog (this is also a little late, I should have posted it yesterday). I have no excuses except that life got really crazy. *Warning this is going to be a long post*

As I did mention in previous posts, my boss decided to leave the university and go into private practice. It was not a decision I wanted, but it was the decision he made and I didn't really have that much say in the matter.  That decision did mean that I would be loosing my job. My very beloved job in a lab that him and I started from the ground up. To say the least, it was a difficult time for me. I had to try my best not to be bitter or angry.

The worst part about it (okay, him leaving was the worst part), was that no one seemed to know when my last day was. I talked to three or four people and none of them could give me a straight answer. So I started to panic a bit. What if I just showed up and didn't have a job any more? It was more than a little nerve wracking to not know what was next.

But I pulled myself together, updated my already awesome CV, and applied for a few positions. I applied for four positions and got called back to three of them. I'll admit, I'm a little hurt I didn't get called back to all of them, but I'll get over that. And out of the three I got called back for, I was offered two (I turned down the interview for the third because I had already accepted a position, so I may have been offered that one as well). I accepted a position at the vet school with a new hire. It's not quite the same research I've done in the past, but it seems very interesting and I'm excited. I'm just moving down the hall from my old lab and closer to a lot of the people I know and work with on a daily basis. My first day is October 1st, so only a short while longer in my old lab. It does still make me sad that I'm leaving all the things I helped create behind and that the university is loosing a great researcher, but it's time to move on.

While all of this was going on, I was offered a part time gig teaching a continuing education class at Madison College. I will be teaching an Etsy intro class similar to the one I teach at the library. This one is a little more broad and doesn't cover quite as much, but I think it will be fun. My first class starts this week and I've been working my butt off to get my training done, my syllabus turned in, contacting everyone I need to, checking my class roster, and getting my actual class ready to go. It's been exhausting, but exciting. I can't wait to start. And yes, I will still be teaching at the library as well.

I've also been working on a number of custom orders for one of my best customers. I've finished up two more beaded cuffs and I started the design on a new bead embroidered gauntlet for him. These are the last of the projects for a while. I need the holidays off.

So those are a few of the reasons why I've been neglecting this blog. I'm going to try my hardest not to do it any more, but no promises. I do have photos of my new bead storage and few other projects I'd like to share this week, so don't forget to stop back. And if you don't see any new posts, go ahead and get on me for that. 

Weekend Wrap Up

Whoa, it's been a long time since I last time I wrote a blog post. What have I been thinking? What have I been up to? We've been busy, I think. Since J has finished school, I feel like we're constantly going but not really accomplishing much.

I bought two new lens, which is fun. I bought a new macro lens and I bought a telephoto lens. I've been practicing using them. I've also been working on my composition and my photoshop skills. Slowly buy surely I'll get good at this. :-)

I've been so busy with work because the fiscal year ended on June 30th. It's always busy this time of year. We have to get a bunch of things finished up before the new fiscal year starts. But now the new fiscal year started and we can get back to a little bit of normalcy.

Our 4th of July was okay. We were very busy and traveled all over to see friends We cooked out a lot and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We had a few bonfires and made delicious smores. It was nice to spend time with our friends. But it was exhausting and I'm actually glad to be back to the normal work week.

I did make a little bit of time for beads! I finished a new custom order. I'm so happy with it and I'm hoping my client likes them as well. I now have to work on a few new patterns and look up some bead colors. I also have a few new cuffs that I need to get photos of them and then get them up on Etsy.

That's about it. Not really all that exciting. A little bit of beadwork. A little bit of cookouts. A little bit of enjoying the weather. Not much other then that. What has everyone else been up to? I hope everyone had a good 4th of July.  

Wordless Wednesday

New Beady Goodness

I have been a busy little girl when it comes to beady things.  I have been busy at work on some custom orders.  I finished up this bad boy at the end of last week.

 I'm in love with this one.  I love the beadwork and I love the way the pyramids look on it.  I'm dropping it off with it's new owner tomorrow, so I hope he likes it as much as I do.  If not, I would be happy to keep it myself, even though it would never fit me.

Speaking of custom orders, I've been working on my first custom gauntlet (this is for the same person as the cuff above).  The first one is a simpler one; rows of black metal pyramids with a single row of seed beads between each row of pyramids.  I'm pretty happy with how this is turning out.  It's not the easiest to sew through this leather, but it's doable.  Now I'm just waiting on more pyramids to arrive so I can finish this.  I'm hoping to have all the beadwork and studs in by this weekend, so I can get it glued and ready to go by next week.  That's my plan for now.

And last, but definitely not least, is the work I've accomplished on my solar system project.  I finished the embroidery work on Saturn's rings.  I'm very happy with how this turned out and I can't wait to start arranging it on the canvas.  Not only am I going to reach my goal of finishing this before the new year, but I think I might just finish it a month early.  Woot, woot!

  
A quick reminder to all my American readers out there.  Get to the polls and cast your vote.  J and I are going after he gets home from work.  GO VOTE!

Weekend Wrap Up

Ugh, this was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I can't publish a post if I don't write it now can I.  And why didn't I write Monday's post?  Because I was taking advantage of yesterday's beautiful weather and painting the garage.  Exciting.  It really is great being a home owner.  That's how you spend the last beautiful day of the year, painting a garage.  Don't get me wrong, I love owning a home and I love doing DIY stuff, but yesterday would have been an awesome day to go for a bike ride or just sit on the deck and bead/read.  We did manage to get a walk in last night, so I did get to enjoy the weather a bit. ;-)

But let's move on.  What happened this weekend?  Well, Nacho is feeling better.  If you didn't read last week, Nacho had another abscess in less then a month due to fighting with Toonces.  You can read about it here and here.  And don't forget I'm having the Nacho sale again to help cover some of the vet bills.  Use coupon code NACHO20 to get 20% off anything in my etsy store.  That includes clearance and patterns. 

Hmmm, what else happened this weekend?  Oh yeah, I finished up all the beadwork on the solar system project over the weekend.  I am also about 85% finished with Saturn's rings, I should have photos later in the weeks of that.  I'm so happy with how it looks so far.  I haven't decided on arrangement and a few other things need to be added, but overall I think it's looking good.  We had some friends over this weekend and they said it was even more impressive in person.  So I'm glad it's getting such good feedback.  I think I might be able to meet my goal of getting it done before the end of the year.  Fingers crossed. 

I also got about 95% of this wonderful custom cuff finished this weekend.  Now I jut need to punch some holes in the leather and make a cotton ribbon for the closure.  I'm in love with the design and I'm loving it with the studs added.  I glued it yesterday, so tonight I should be able to put the finishing touches on it and get it ready to go to it's new home.  

And last, but not least, I practiced some embroidery stitches.  I've never attempted these types of leaves, so I thought I would give it a try.  I have a sweater that I love, but I put a very small hole in it.  So I used these embroidered leaves to cover up the hole and add a little interest to the sweater.  I learned a lot from these two small leaves and now I can't wait to try it out on some other projects.  

I also wanted to show off this great cat themed treasury that my Down the Rabbit Hole cuff was included in.  Check it out and all the kitty goodness.      

'THIS CAT IS OOAK!!!' by COSIMITA

♥ =^..^= ♥

Artist: Jack Babiloni / OOAK... UCRONIA $39	Boy Patchwork Placemat Break... iasio $23	THE SASSY CAT- ooak- Thick c... PenelopeMeatlo... $24	Little witch/ Home Deco Wall... Adushkas $200
Christmas eve igloo dress fr... NATIPUREIDEA $279	Love Cats OOAK necklace MetallicMuseCr... $200	Fanciful Felines on a Golden... LouAnnsdesigns $215	My Blue Nouveau Art Pin - OO... ApacheMoon $175
Down the Rabbit Hole - Bead ... ThreeFatesDesi... $225	Cuff Egyptian Setmet Cat BondsJewels $425	Purple Jade & Turquoise Cat ... LifeTravelsDes... $265	Funky handmade cat and deer ... PlanetNathalie $139
Here Kitty Antique Fork Ne... WoodsEdgeJewel... $85	Life Size Black Wire Cat Scu... PoppySeedCats $250	Cats & Kittens "Proud M... ACutAboveMemor... $275.24	Artist teddy bear cat, ooak ... ShabbyGoesLuck... $75

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A Blog Giveaway

So I haven't done a blog giveaway in a long, long, long time.  I think it's been about a year, yup like I said, a long time.  So I think it's time for a little giveaway.  Next week will mark three years with etsy and I'd like to thank everyone that has made it a wonderful experience.  So time for the giveaway.   

So what exactly is up for grabs here?  Well let take a look, shall we.

First up is a pair of blue dangle earrings.  These are fun bright blue earrings made with tiny little silver lined beads and then accented with glass bicones.  I have a pair of gunmetal ones like this, and I get complements everywhere I go.  But these earrings are not for the weak of heart, they measure in at 3 inches in length.

I'm also going to be giving some lucky person a beaded cuff.  Yup a really cute blue butterfly cuff.  It's fun and playful with two light blue butterflies dancing around your wrist.  It measures about 2 inches wide and has an adjustable wrist size.  


So what do you have to do?  There are a few simple ways you can enter.  

First you can leave a comment on this blog post.  It can be anything; you can tell me what you would do if you won or just say hi.  Any comment will equal one entry.

You can tweet about this giveaway, don't forget to add #threefates to the tweet so I can find it.  Then come back here and let me know you tweeted the giveaway.

You could blog about this giveaway.  Just write a short blog post describing the giveaway and link back to my blog.  Then don't forget to come back here and leave a comment to let me know.

And finally you could make a post about it on Facebook.  It can be a post on your personal page or your business page, it doesn't matter.  And like before, just come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did it. 

**I've also decided to add a 5th way to enter my giveaway.  If you are not already a fan of the Three Fates Design Facebook page, become a fan and leave a comment here letting me know you did.  That will give you a 5th chance at winning one of the fantastic prizes.**

Each one of the things above will count as one entry, so you could have your name entered in the drawing up to five times. 

I'll leave this giveaway up until the end of August.  That will give everyone plenty of time to enter and it will give me plenty of time for art shows and everything else that's crazy here.

I will randomly choose two lucky winners on September 1, 2010.  So don't forget to stop back here and see if you won (please leave a way for me to contact you in one of your comments).

Comments must be in by midnight (central time) on August 31, 2010.  Sorry no choice on which item you win (one person will win the earrings and one will win the cuff).

EBW Challenge Piece

My EBW challenge piece

I know I've shown pictures of this cuff before, but I finally got it listed on etsy, one day before this month's deadline.  I didn't want to miss out on this challenge since I had missed last month's deadline (I forgot that the deadline was the 5th).

This month's challenge is Gold and Silver.  I love this idea.  Just that perfect combination of two extremely classy colors.  I also love seeing all the beadwork made with these two colors, all those little tiny silver and gold beads just shimmer in the light.  Beautiful.  I know voting is going to be difficult this month, there are already so many beautiful entries.  You can search EBWC on etsy to find all the entries and don't forget to visit the EBW blog between August 9th and 15th to vote for your favorite piece. 

Here are a couple of my favorite entries (even though it's hard to pick).

This beautiful cuff, Silver Remake Beaded Cuff,  was created by Beads and Blooms and is just to die for.  I absolutelty love the silver mesh piece in the center of the cuff.  Just beautiful. 

Then I love this necklace, The Sunshine After the Rain, from The Crimson Moon.  It's has a simple yet spectacular feel to it. 

Both pieces are just a taste of some of the beauties that you can vote for this month.  Like I said before, it's going to be a tough decision this month. 

*****

And I've already started thinking about next month's challenge; BollyWood.  I have a clay cab I made that will just work perfectly, now to decide what I'm going to do and start working on that one.  :-) 

Silver and Gold Freeform Cuff - Finished

Well I was going to post new pictures of day three of my beaded vessel. I know what happened to day two, I just didn't get pictures taken.  I was excited to get more work done on it, you can't blame me.  So I packed up everything so I could go outside at lunch and snap a few pics of my progress.  But that plan came to a screeching halt when I got to work only to realize the point and shoot's battery was dead and I didn't have a charger.  Booo, but wait, I did have the computer cord, I'll just charge it through my computer.  It will take a little longer, but should work.  No, no, my computer isn't even recognizing that the camera is plugged in, so I guess a progress report is out of the question.  But I promise to get some pictures tonight before I start working on it a bit more.

Finished Free Form Cuff

But I don't want to not post any pretty pictures.

Here is the final outcome of my free form cuff.  As you may remember I wasn't sure if wanted to embelish this cuff or leave it as it was.  Now I got a lot of feed back both on the blog and on Facebook, so I decided to leave it be, sort of.

I changed out the button.  Not that I didn't like the button before, I just wanted something a little different.  I took the center part out of the button and created my own button.  I used a dark blue swarvoski bicone to hold the button in place and then created a little bead garden around it with the silver and gold seed beads and those great vintage beads.

Old Button

Here's a crappy phone picture of the old button.  It was nice, but just not what I had in mind.

I'm pretty happy with this outcome.  I like how the new button toggle really finishes the piece.  It brings everything together and it's kinda fun.

This is my entry in the August EBW challenge Silver and Gold.  I wasn't missing out on this challenge.  So I got my challenge piece done early and got the pictures done as soon as I stitched the last bead.  No more lazy me.  I'll post something as soon as I get it listed (see I still might miss the deadline) and I'll post a link when voting starts.  I know I'll be up against some stiff competition with my simple free form cuff.  But I'm happy with my entry.

*****

And just because I wouldn't be a very good GF if I didn't say anything.  J and the guys have a gig this Saturday in Madison.  They will be at Legends Sports Bar & Grill on the west side.  It's free cover and $1 beer and brats.  Check out their facebook page for more info.  If you like ska and live in Madison, you better be there.

Also they have T-shirt preorder going on right now.  If you want a shirt get me or one of them the info by Thursday. 

My Secret Garden

Close up of the secret garden cuff

So last month I was posting pictures of my daily progress of my newest bead embroidery cuff.  Then nothing.  I finished it and I never ever got around to posting the finished results.  Well that was because I was too lazy to get out my camera and light box, see earlier story.

So this morning I decided enough was enough.  I had a collection of items that needed to be photographed and I wasn't going to wait until the pile got overwhelming.  So out with the camera and light tent.

This cuff was supposed to be for the EBW July challenge, but I didn't get it done in time.  I probably shouldn't have waited until a week and a half before the deadline to start.  But better luck next time, right?!?  The theme was secret garden and this was my interpretation.

Front side of the secret garden cuff

I'm really enjoying bead embroidery.  It makes me happy and I'm able to embellish and what not more then with peyote.  And to think a few years ago I said I would never ever try bead embroidery again.  That just taught me to never jump straight into a huge project the first time I try something. But I digress.

I used a combination of Toho bead mixes as well as bead mixes I made myself for this cuff.  I also got out my charm stash I've been collecting for years.  There is a little pewter frog and turtle in this secret garden as well as a bright purple butter fly and little birdies.  I added little pops of color with orange, purple, and yellow seed beads (these are supposed to be flowers).  I ordered a mixed bag of cat eye cabs with my last bead order and I threw a few of those in there too.  Hey it's a secret garden right, I can add what ever I want to it.  ☺  I then finished it off with some nice brown leather and snaps.

This is a pretty good sized cuff, but I love them that way.  It's like having a little piece of art on your arm.  And I do have to say this cuff really seemed to get a lot of people attention at the art shows I brought it too.  Everyone picked it up and told me how much they liked it.  So I'm glad others like it as much as I do.  So like I said, hopefully I actually get to enter my next challenge piece and I won't miss the deadline.   

Secret Garden Cuff

Sorry for the picture quality

I have the next couple of weeks off.  Well sorta.  I don't have an art show for a few weeks and our friends just had their baby boy, so J's band has a little hiatus for now.  We finally have some down time that we can just relax and maybe catch up with some things around the house.

I finally got around to using the gift certificate I got for my birthday, back in April.  I bought two really great books.  It was so difficult for me to pick just two books, but I finally made my choice.

One of the books I bought was Seed Bead Fusion by Rachel Nelson-Smith.  I love this book.  The projects are so colorful and creative.  I've just been drooling over it since it's arrived.

So since this is my "vacation" time, I thought I would work on something new.  I really love the cuffs in Rachel's book, so I'm working on one that is inspired by the book.

 

I know it's an awful picture.  For some reason I decided to leave the real camera at home today so I snapped a quick pic with my phone.  I tried to clean it up in photoshop, but to no avail.  But you get the idea from the picture.

I love RAW (right angle weave).  It's one of the first stitches I learned.  It's just so pretty and can take on so many looks when just altered a little bit.  I've even started using it to make three dimensional items.

So one of the bracelets in the book is RAW and the little circles are filled in.  Now I've filled RAW with crystals and pearls and etc, etc.  But I just love how the little holes look with little seed beads.

I altered the project a bit.  The base is a bit different and I'm not filling in every row.  I like the more open look as well as I may have used to thick of thread to be able to go through the beads that many times, but we'll go with I like the open look as the main reason :-)

I'm really happy with how it looks and  I can't wait to finish it up so I can wear it.  I don't really make myself that much lately, so this is kinda a little present to myself.  A new sparkly bracelet.  I'm hoping to finish it tonight and get pictures soon.  I know I'll be wearing it as soon as it's finished.  And if you're looking for a good book to inspire you're bead work check this one out (no this is NOT a paid endorsement, I'm just really happy with my book).

I also missed the deadline for the EBW challenge, but I should have pictures of my cuff that was intended to be included in July's challenge.

And I also want to remind everyone to vote for Beads of Courage at the Pepsi Project website, the link is on my side bar.  This is a great program that helps kids with cancer.  To find out more about it check out their blog and vote today!

Day Five - Last Sneek Peak

Day Five

I finished up my bead embroidered cuff this weekend.  I'm so happy with it.  It's fun and colorful.  I love using bead embroidery to paint little pictures.  Here is the last picture of it as a work in progress.  I'll drag out the light tent and hopefully get some pictures of it before this weekend (2 art shows and J's band has 2 shows this weekend, what were we thinking).  Stay tuned for the final reveal.   

Day Four

Here's a [crappy iphone] picture of day four progress of my latest challenge piece.  I didn't get a chance to work on it Thursday night because we were screen printing t-shirts for J's band (which turned out really nice).  But I did sit down on Friday night and got almost all of the blue finished.  I'm making good progress.  I've finished all the beading today and should be able to get almost all of the beadwork sewn on to the leather tonight.  So hopefully by tomorrow, if all goes to plan, I will have a finished cuff to show off.  Stay tuned for day five pics. 

Day Three

Here's sneak peak day three.  I know what you're thinking, this doesn't look that much different from yesterday's sneak peak, what's up with that?  I know, I wasn't quite as productive last night as the night before.  But I did get some things done.

Day Three

First, the green on this side of the cuff wasn't completely done, so I finished that up.  Then I added my little frog friend there.  I also added little pops of color that are supposed to be flowers, it's hard to tell in this crappy phone picture, but they're there, you just have to take my word for it.  I also started on the blue.  That's on the other side of the cuff, so again you'll have to take my word for it again.

I'm really happy with how this cuff is turning out.  Stay tuned tomorrow for the next sneak peak.      

Day Two

Just a quick post today. Here is a sneak peak at my challenge piece. It's only day two and and half done with the bead embroidery. Now just to finish up the second half and start working on the embellishments and attaching it to leather.  I'm really excited about how this one is looking.  I'm starting to grow quite fond of bead embroidery.  There are so many possibilities with it. Stay tuned for day three pictures tomorrow. 

Day two! It's really starting to take shape.

*Storm Update*  Yesterday J stayed home to clean up the flooded basement and I left work early to help.  We got it all cleaned up just in time for the storms that hit us last night and this morning.  Now the basement is flooded again and this morning there was water leaking from a light switch up stairs.  I don't know about the rest of you that live in the area, but I think I'm done with the crap weather.

Summer Time!!!

Center Focal Bead

Summer is finally here (well at least it is here in WI).  I have been waiting for summer all winter long.  Waiting for the sunny days and warm weather.  Waiting for the summer outings at the park and the beach.  Oh, summer, I'm so glad you're finally here.

And what's better, I finally finished my ArtBeads project; and it's summer themed.  This month we were supposed to celebrate summer using a wide selection of charms, pendents, and glass beads.  What fun.

Summer Time Beach Cuff

So what is one of my favorite things about the summer, well it's the water.  When I lived in Chicago we use to go sailing all the time.  I loved to just be out on the open water.  It was so much fun.  But sailing isn't the only thing I love.  I love to swim and I love the beach.  Next to biking, swimming is my favorite activity.  And once summer rolls around, I don't have to swim inside anymore.  I can go and enjoy the warm sun as I relax in the water or on the sand.  So I wanted to celebrate my love of the water by making a beaded cuff. 

I have been hooked on bead embroidery as of late.  I'm just having so much fun with it, I can't help myself.  I choose from a wide selection of Toho seed bead mixes to create the sand, ocean, and sky.  The mixes really give the bead embroidery a wonderful feel.  They just add a little bit extra.  I added little beaded clouds using a wonderful AB matte white size 15 seed bead.  Little, light, fluffy clouds in the sky.

Little Sterling Silver Crab

I chose a wonderful glass bead as the focal.  I used a wonderful Venetian Glass La Crima Ca'd' Oro Coin bead.  I started out thinking about playing with a big beach ball on the sand, but then realized that the large red coin also looked like the bright, hot, summer sun.

And to add a little bit of fun to the cuff, I used a couple sterling silver charms.  A small silver sand dollar waits on the sand.  It reminds me of our trip to San Diego.  While on the beach, we saw a whole collection of sand dollars.  And then swimming out in the sea is a little silver crab.  I choose a crab because J really likes them.  He use to have a small little red one he named Pinchy (I promised him when we moved, he could get another one).

I decided to use some super soft dark brown leather I had for the base of the cuff.  This stuff is like butter.  I also added two sets of snaps, so that it can be adjusted to different wrist sizes.  Then I finished off the cuff with some great silver lined red square beads.

Summer Time Beach Cuff

This is one large cuff, at about 2 1/2 inches wide, so it's not really for everyone, but is is a beauty.

Disclosure - I have received these products from ArtBeads free of charge to honestly review. I have not been paid for this post.