Monday, November 26, 2007

Beading and Babies!


So, whaddya think? Do these jeans make me look pregnant? Oh, no, wait, that's the 3 1/2 pound baby boy I'm carrying that's making me look like that! Tom took this picture today for me to send to Kathy. I didn't realize that I was this big! I mean, yeah, I know that I don't feel as graceful as I usually do, and rolling over in bed is a major operation that requires both arms and several pillows, but damn! At least my arms and legs are still normally sized, even if everything between my armpits and my hips has expanded!

In the last few weeks, I've managed to sort of get back on track with the beading and jewelry making. I've made some really cool fused glass bracelets, and I've been working on some other beaded projects, pictures of which I will post here as soon as I can format the photos.

The first piece I finished a few weeks ago is called "Flower Power" and I made it from Swarovski pearls with cylinder bead petals and strung with lots of cool vintage glass from my stash. The second doesn't have a name yet, but is made from pastel-colored wood discs that I knotted together. I used a pineapple quartz donut as the centerpiece and made a silk thread tassel for the bottom. Then today I finished a piece called "Butterfly Kisses" made with garnets and vintage brass butterfly findings. Next up for finishing tomorrow is a piece I'm calling "Bamboo Bib" that is a wire structure that is laced with bamboo beads, shells, and tribal-looking seed beads. After that, I've got a re-make of a vintage glass necklace with Swarovski crystals to string, a choker based on jewelry found in England in the Cheapside Horde, a woven necklace based on a piece I saw in "The Hudsucker Proxy", and then a whole series of woven pieces based on vintage lace collars. Woo-hoo!