Pretty Palettes: Halcraft/Michaels Stores January Challenge

It has been a while since Alison from Alison Adorns and I have done a Pretty Palettes Challenge. But she knows how much I LOVE snowflakes, so we both agreed to do it!

I loved the color scheme this time around, and I knew I had a bunch of fun beads that would work for this piece, so I ended up using a strand of AB finish rounds from the Challenge specs and added the majority of the other pretties from my stash.

I recently acquired the focal from a friend and I was really excited to use it on this necklace. Another thing that I like about my design is that I used jumprings for the snowflakes and they can come off of the piece to wear more seasonally.

This necklace probably won't be mine for long though. Don't tell my daughter but I am using it as an incentive for her to get her room clean and keep it that way as well as get a hairbrush through her almost natty dreads...

Can't wait for tomorrow, as the next Pretty Palettes Challenge will be announced! Join us!!!!!

Open Table Nights

Every other Wednesday at Allegory Gallery, we host Open Table Night. It's like open mic night but without any singing talent! Lol

We gather together to make stuff and chit chat and it is so much fun! We do it so that folks who miss our weekday classes can get their creativity on. And beat the winter doldrums. Among other things!!!! But it is also a really great excuse to check out what is new and exciting at the shop and make a great project (or several)...

Alison and Zack and I challenged ourselves to try the 'Muffin Tin Project'

The idea is that you fill up a muffin pan with a mish mash of components from your stash that may have lingering around or that you just haven't had a chance to use yet.

I filled mine up and had a great time doing it. However, the lighting in my basement is not quite as true as I thought it was. So I had quite a surprise when some of the things that I thought went together, kind of didn't!

But, it didn't dissuade me! I always have a funky mixture of stuff in my bag at all times, so if I didn't find what I needed, the store always has the perfect component!

So after two Open Table Nights, you can see what has sprung out of my muffin tin!

I'm quite pleased! And once I find the right clasps for everything, I will be able to wear them!  (But that's an entirely different blog post!!!!)

So- here it goes. Day One:

My Muffin Tin, ready to create:

My progress after the first Open Table Night:

My progress while I waited for my Monday class to start the following week:

My progress after tonight's Open Table Session:

Crappy cell phone photos! BUT so excited to show off my projects. Be sure to check out Alison and what she has cooking at Alison Adorns and also, our creative genius Andrew Thornton at his blog The Art and Writing of Andrew Thornton. 

And finally, don't forget, all are welcome to join us! We would love for you to join us at the beading table. 

Spirit Walk Design Challenge

Happy New Year!!!!

I don't know about you, but nothing is better than starting off the new year with a new planner. I love how it feels when I write out all the things that need to be done and eventually crossed off the list. 

I also am a little strange in that I enjoy procrastinating. I think that over the years, I have convinced myself that it's an added personal challenge to see how long I can put something off, and then revel in what my finished product is when I 'whip something up' as the clock ticks.

I usually fly by the seat of my pants. It made my parents crazy, it makes my husband crazy, and I'm sure it makes other people crazy too! Sorry!!!!

So, I may be slightly sadistic, because even I have these moments where I ask myself why I waited so long to do something, but it's a small part of what makes me, ME!

Oddly enough, for this project, I knew that I would be crazy busy shopgirling before the holidays, so I had my projects taken care of and ready to reveal. So much so that I inadvertantly made this piece to wear with an awesome purple faux fur jacket for New Years Eve, and I totally forgot to wear it when the time came!!!!

So, moral of the story, I guess that it just doesn't work for me to be that planned out and ready to go. I had even taken pictures! What works best for me is that I have gotta work up to my deadline or things get lost! Things get forgotten! 

All in all, I guess it will be pretty to wear with something for Valentine's Day, so it works out in the end. As long as I don't misplace it...

Evergreen Challenge

Did the holiday kick your ass????

It definitely did mine!

I feel like the month of December (and all the months leading up to) were a giant blur!

I'm looking forward to some downtime this winter so that I can get caught up on some of the projects that I have been wanting to get completed.

Speaking of which, here is my post for the Allegory Gallery Evergreen Challenge. This reveal was WEEKS ago, and honestly, we got together at the shop for a while on Christmas Eve eve, and that's how I got this taken care of!

I never did get it totally 'finished' but here you can see how it looks as it was being created!

I hope you have a wonderful New Year and can't wait for more challenges and book club meet ups! 

Here's to a slower paced 2016!!!!

Miss Peregrine Blog Post for Inspired by Reading Book Club at Allegory Gallery

It was so nice to finally meet up to discuss Andrew and William's move AND have two months worth of books for Book Club this month. Lol

I feel like every post that I write starts off with, I'm so busy or I'm so late posting this, etc...
But I am! 

I'm just really glad that before all of my jobs got really busy this fall (I work at a handful of shops in our town, and as an Administrative Assistant part time at our Township) that I had all the books read a few months out! 

I instantly fell in love with Miss Peregrine, couldn't finish Hollow City fast enough and climbed the walls until the last book of the trilogy was released (coincidentally) this September.

I don't buy books, so I'm a huge fan of our local library and was so excited that I got a copy of the final book within days of its release. I swear, it was hot off the press!!!

So, I'm sure you already know what happened in the book. But if not, and if you haven't read ahead in the trilogy, DO! You will not be disappointed!!!

(BTW, I use blogger on my phone, so I'm hoping that ALL the photos post Ok - orientation and clarity-wise...) it's also the reason that all of my pics are at the very end of my posts. Sorry!

#1. This is an old photo that I sourced from a house that my parents were flipping. I loved that it was old and the folks were canoeing. And in general, it's just damn cool! So it was funny when one of my friends in book club texted me about the ominous ending of the book. This photo just jumped to mind and I knew I had to share!!!

#2. As I read through each book, I thought to myself, I've got to do a project for each one... So I usually spend the month thinking about it and I whip something up as a project the day before or the day of the meet-up... hahaha. Sorry! So one day when I popped into a shop in town, I saw this 'strong guy' and I instantly thought of Brownwyn, the guy with the super strength.... turns out she's a she, but it works for all the times she uses that strength to save the characters in all the crazy situations they get into (in all 3 books).

#3. Quite possibly one of my favorite photos in book #3, I got to put my spin on this pic (see photo #4) whilst at a Hallowedding.... funny, right????

#5. But that wasn't what I wanted to call my 'project' for the 3rd book. I felt I owed it more than that! So this picture is from a scene in the final book where I think the woman just stares into a void. But those beads were too cool....

#6. So, these beads.... I made them myself. And I'm really not sure if I want to call them a Pinterest fail or not.... lol
My husband and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary this fall, and he bought me flowers for it. Like, had the florist deliver them to me at work (which coincidentally was the first day at the new job...){Thanks, honey}

Now, being crafty (or maybe looking at these beads, maybe not?) I looked online for ideas to re-purpose them. I stumbled across a tutorial for making beads from flowers, or basically rosary beads.

So, you've seen them. My entire family was really disappointed with the outcome of the efforts of my labor. It was lots of boiling, and lots of hoping that they would turn out to be pretty as Pinterest. Enjoy comparing pic #6 to pic #7....

In conclussion, I hope you enjoyed my turd beads! I'm still going to use them for something because they aren't too far off from lava beads or some sort of crazy nuts....

Allegory Design Challenges

Quick post!

Here they are: Last Harvest and Gold Dust kits!

Had a blast with both of them and I'm glad I got them both done on time!!!

(Don't forget to check out my Brave Angel post while you are here too, totally missed THAT deadline)

Be well and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Brave Angel Challenge Reveal

I'm late!
I'm late!
I'm late!

This gal has a bunch of balls in the air and it amazes me how much I can accomplish. But I feel like a whirling dervish most of the time.....

So, as always, it dawned on me that I only had a few days to whip something up for this challenge.

My favorite tool to use is the Vintaj looper tool. I've shown it to quite a few people and they too agree that it would be a life changer.

I've figured out how to estimate just the right amount of wire that I need for a component without wasting a bunch and as a result, this tool becomes my go-to for when I need to get a beading job done, and in a hurry!

So without much ado, here are the pieces I made for this challenge. They are an homage to my Aunt who passed away 2 years ago this December. She was brave when she was diagnosed with stage 4 beast cancer and she gave it a great fight for a little more than 3 years.

Dammit that cancer took her away from us, but she's still my biggest role model and I find myself quoting her often when I find myself buying another pair of shoes or ANOTHER handbag, but i think of her most of all when I look at my little girl who was born on her birthday. So, in a nutshell she's always on my mind (and I'm thankful I stopped crying each time she was too).

So, Auntie C, my brave angel always, these two pieces are for you and if you were still here, they'd be in the mail to you - with a flamingo!