2010 BJP finished in the nick of time!

I finally finished December's BJP piece, with almost 8 hours to spare! It was my goal to finish all 12 pieces in 2010, and I made it! Of course, I had to do 3 pieces in December alone, but it was still a lot of fun, and a nice break from the other pressures of the month.



This month's piece is obviously yellow, which I chose to beat back the gloom of winter. The little owl face is something I picked up somewhere, for some project once upon a time. It became my found object because I kept 'finding' it on my work table. The other little bit is a dried fruit pod from a sweet gum tree from my long time friend and exercise buddy, Barbara Shipman. The little spikes are very sharp--I got one in my foot, so I know they are! I imbedded this pod in hypo cement to tame the spikes.



I'm so lucky to have found this bead embroidery community. It has really enriched my life. I completed 12 pieces for 2008-009 and 12 for 2010. I'm looking forward to 2011, with a new approach and new challenges. Happy New Year everyone.

November BJP

I finished November's BJP piece yesterday, and started working on December's today. I'm determined to finish 2010 this month, because I'm looking forward to BJP 2011.

This piece features a purple crystal butterfly from my friend and fellow Friday beader Linda Carstens. The mauvey purple color scheme seems to let the butterfly shine even more. There are 6s, 8s, tiles, 11s, hexes, 15s and delicas, even some crystals. It is amazing what you can find in your bead stash! Do you see the little wire antennae?

Next year, I'm going to use some of my Czech beads, which hang on the side of my workspace shelf. I want to incorporate some wire and/or 3 dimensional techniques. I also have surprise idea for my background and inspiration! You'll be able to see it in January.

Only October oh my

Oh my, where has the time gone. I honestly don't know how the last two months passed without my noticing. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I didn't finish my October piece until today, with November and December still to go in the next 3 weeks or so. My only excuse is that I was chairing our beadmaker's guilld annual show and sale, which was two weeks ago.

I'm not worried about finishing the year, and our holiday preparations are pretty minimal these days, now that our son is an adult. So I'll have time to finish and plan for next year. I've got lots of new ideas, and am looking forward to another year.

This month's found oibjects were 2 little propellers my husband Charlie had bought for a model ship he planned to builld, and may still. I love the copper color and paired it with turquoise, and some great copper with verdigris finish. I really like that color combination. The design arose from the propellers, and imagining how the water might flow. Thanks for looking and enjoy!