BTW 3/21: Kian

My nephew's baptism is this Sunday. This is him.

9 months is a great age. He's giggly and soft. I recorded the video on my phone and it was right in front of my face. He kept trying to look over the phone or under so he could see my face. 

I bought this great dress and a beige blazer to wear to the baptism. I spent my Bead Table Wednesday making some jewelry to match.

This is the pattern of the dress.

I created a long pearl necklace with some crystals...

Glass pearls with seed beads to give it the knotted look.

And some earrings.

Was losing light or I'd post the finished pieces. I'm loving the color combo.

Last week was filled with a whole lot of nothing. Lots of relaxing and recharging. The boyfriend and I got into a huge fight but we needed to hash it out and it was good for us. I think we're going to be ok. But it's been a bit hard getting into the whole creative thing after not doing anything for a whole week. Almost didn't do a BTW post... but I made myself! WOO!

What's on your bead table today?

Check out the BTW Flickr group!

the storm

From Pinterest. Looks like I need to buy some dancing shoes.

Stick a Pin in It

When I'm upset, I go onto Pinterest and look at pretty things. I pin random things that make me smile. Sorry to my Pinterest Peeps for all the new pins this morning.

pretty shoes

I'm mad. Like. Really mad and sad and losing sleep kind of mad. I don't like being one of those women who complains about her boyfriend all over the internet but that's why I'm upset.

love this skirt

My brother's first child is getting baptized on the 25th. I'm going to be a godmother to my little baby nephew. My boyfriend originally said he could come. But now, apparently, a scheduling mix-up and he has to go to a lecture that his friend invited him to many many weeks ago. A lecture his friend paid for and feels like he can't get out of.

he's so happy

He said to me, something to the effect of, "I feel like if I leave him, he'll have no one to go with. But there will be a lot of people at the baptism." Sooo... you're not needed? Yeah. A lot of people. Just my family. And it's not like I've been looking forward to this since my sister-in-law mentioned the godmother thing when my nephew was born in June last year.

I want to try this

He knows I'm mad. I told him I'm mad and upset. And yes, he feels terrible. And I understand. But I can't help being sad and disappointed. Plans had to be changed. I had to ask my sister-in-law if there's room for me at their house so I can spend the night since I can't make the trip back and forth in one day. I'm lucky they have a big house. I don't know what I'd do if there was no room for me.

Pretty nails

My friend asked me last night if this was a deal breaker. Because I wanted to fight. I wanted to pick a fight and scream and yell. But her advice was that she only picks fight over things that could be deal breakers. I don't know. Almost 4 years together... my family is so important to me. Of course, I told him it's fine if he goes to the lecture. He feels he can't get out of it. It's important to his friend. I let him know I'm upset but he should go if that's what he wants. I can't make him back out on his friend. Just like he can't force me to stop being upset. Hell, I can't even stop myself.

My nephew. Adorable. I can't wait to be with him. And snuggle him. The second picture in the top row is my brother playing peek-a-boo. The last picture is my nephew and his brother, Kai. I can't wait to play with Kai... video games... maybe watch a movie?

Maybe I'll bring my beads again and we'll make some jewelry together.

Sigh. I'm exhausted. Being angry is tiring.

BTW: Bracelet Frames

[[[ If you're looking for the Bead Soup blog post, it's HERE. :) ]]]

Happy Bead Table Wednesday! Lets take a look at my desk...

I'm making bracelet frames. I LOVE this bracelet so much I wanted to make more to sell. I wear mine day and night. I only take it off to shower... Very comfy.

 There's my anvil. And yes, that hammer is tiny. The idea was it wouldn't hurt as much if I struck my finger with it... Yeah. Not so much. Also, it was like $5 or something like that. Oh, and I don't have a pad thingy for my anvil. I WAS using my planner but I figured out that if I kept it at home under my anvil, I never used it. :P The book works pretty well for muffling the sound of my little hammer.

Here are some of the frames. They then become...

This! Zebra jasper the tag said. But when I looked up the stone online, zebra jasper was black and white... this looks more like "landscape jasper." But I'm going to trust my bead tag until someone else tells me it's wrong. Then, this becomes...

This! And it's even listed in the shop! I'm all kinds of productive today.

I want to make a bunch of these in different colors. Here's where I bought this silk. I've had it FOREVER. Last night, I almost bought a bunch of silk but stopped myself. I think I'll make the frames first AND THEN buy the colored silk to match. See! Then I know I'll use the ribbon. :)

What's on YOUR bead table today?

Check out the BTW Flickr group!

Tuesday Randoms

[[[ If you're looking for the Bead Soup blog post, it's HERE. :) ]]]

What I think of while I'm wire wrapping:

• Wow. All these songs sound new. Probably because I usually listen to audio books while I'm working.
• I think I need a new audio book. Game of Thrones has become a bit depressing and the narrator leaves something to be desired.
• Hm. I do that a lot. I'll stop reading/listening to a book before it's over. Well, at least I go back to it eventually.
• Wow, there's a lot of rap songs on this playlist. 
• Oh, that's right. I tried to be "gangsta" in high school.
• I wonder if my brother was embarrassed by me when I was in high school.
• I wonder how my brother and his fambam are. They're like my favorite people.
• Really should go look for Legos to turn into jewelry for my brother's girlfriend.
• I wonder if I could make some pyrex jewelry too (she like's pyrex).

I love how my mind wanders when I'm creating. I mean, is that bad? I know some people say that you should focus but some things like wire wrapping... c'mon. Oh it's beautiful, but I can't just count wraps and beads the whole time, can I?

It was unbelievably warm the other day. Like "OH! I can wear my favorite sleeveless dress today!" warm. And my fingers came up with these earrings, now in the shop here. Minty green and tangerine flowers. I bought those beads because they looked like margarita green but are pretty transparent now that I've wrapped them up in shiny copper.

I liked this design so much I made another pair of earrings:

But those are mine. ALL MINE! I'm trying to be more daring with the jewelry I wear myself (inspired by the lovely Shannon). I usually just wear silver studs and a few wrap bracelets but I think these will make a regular appearance on my lobes. Even made a matching necklace... which I forgot to take a picture of. Soon, I'll be brave enough to show my mug on my own blog. Booyah.

I tweaked the design a bit with the second pair of earrings. I think if I make these again, I'll make them just like that. I love the fire polish finish on the Czech glass too. Happiness all around.

Remember my bead soup bracelet? I found some pretty zebra jasper to make more bracelets to sell.

I love the variation in the stone. Some have purple tones. Some are all brown and orange. Some are black and grey! And they were on clearance at Michaels. SCORE!

My latest bead store haul. And yes, I was at Corner Bakery... again... I practically live there. But I think the details on that topic deserves it's own blog post.

Can you tell I LOVE Czech glass? Druk beads. Fire polish. Crystal. Sigh. All kinds.

I've already played with those seed beads.

I'm thinking necklaces. Add a simple chain maybe? Break up the chain with some crystal? I dunno yet. But I'm having fun making the bows.

So, that's my random Tuesday post. Check out the shop where my new earrings are sitting, waiting for a new home. I've marked down some destash mags and added some UK issues. Woot? WOOT!

And, soup's on! Dig in!

I had this post ready to go yesterday but noooo... it wasn't there when I went to look this about... oh... 15 minutes ago. Oh Blogger, you are so fickle. I am reposting this now and will have to hop tomorrow! First day of my new job today! WOOT! 

The wonderful Lori Anderson has put together this Bead Soup Party and I was one of the lucky few chosen to participate. Love you, Lori!!!

Here are the beads my partner, Kathy, sent me. Don't you just love those bronze pieces and that stone?! And the round piece on the right? From her button collection. AND Czech glass beads!? Love.

Here's what I came up with:

I've been trying to make my pieces more interesting and has presented with a lovely opportunity to play with a new material: wire mesh tubular ribbon. I love how the stones look in the ribbon.

Added some Czech glass beads and a lucite flower. I am absolutely head over heels for that moon pendant.

And of course, I couldn't get away without some wire wrapping...

I used copper wire and some seed beads to make the frame. That stone is such a wonderful shape and sits on top of the frame so beautifully.

I used some silk sari ribbon I bought many many moons ago. Knotted and used a wood bead as a clasp. Simple, but pretty. And it feels great on my wrist.

That ribbon makes me ridiculously giddy. Though, I learned that just because the scraps are sewn end to end doesn't mean it's the most secure binding. SO. When you yank, sometimes, it will come apart. Do try not to scream out obscenities in the middle of the night if this happens to you. :P

I had such big plans for my lovely beads, but was hit with a nasty cold on Sunday. I haven't done much making and creating since then. My bed and I were good friends this week. Here's what I was left with:

As you can see, I started to work on a few different pieces, but never finished. Hopefully, I'll have a second companion post with those pieces sometime next week.

I don't normally work with this color pallet. Oh, I always want to but when I go out and buy beads for myself, they usually end up being purples or pinks... copper wire... sometimes, shiny brass. Thank you, Kathy, for sending me such lovely beads and giving me the opportunity to work outside my comfort zone.

Check out Kathy's blog here.

And hop on over to Lori's blog for a list of all the bead soup players.