August is DONE!!!!!

Yea! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm not sure why, but this piece reminded me of tooled leather. Weird. Oh, well. Here's a couple pics:

But I swear, September WILL NOT have any long sticky outie things that get in the way!!! I hope I learned my lesson!

With aloha,

CC

First Aloha Doll done

OK...the first Aloha Doll is done & ready to be mailed to the Comfort Doll project. Here she is:

I hope whoever gets her knows every stitch sewn, & every bead added, was made with lots of love! And with belief for a peaceful, beautiful future!

She's gone batty!

OK...so dear husband thinks I've gone over the edge! I started this week just adding lines of beads in each of the sun's rays after finishing off the "good red road".

Then I wanted to add an edging, but didn't want to do a picot. Wanted to somehow get a flat line of beads on the edge of the rays. Well, the only thing I knew to do was try some things out on my sample work piece. Here's that:

I LOVE buttonhole stitch, but only used it within a piece, not on an edge. But I use it to make baskets & buttonholes, so why not on the rays? Mwah ha ha!
I asked DH his opinion & he laughed! Too much work! Too bulky! Too...OK...out of the studio with him!!! Ha! I just went along merrily on my way. It's taking time, & it does get tangled, but I like it! And I'm the only one that counts on this one! :) You can see it here:

Not exactly sure how it will all turn out, but it's my hot, heavy August piece & I like it! :)

BJP Update

Aloha! So I did get a little done on my August BJP. I'm really being reminded of all the rock hounding trips we went on as kids. I love rocks!!! They make me feel so grounded! :D I know, bad pun, but it's true!!! So I marked where I wanted some chips to go surrounding the focal nugget. Got them stitched down, & then started with the rough red seed beads. They remind me of Eastern WA, the Southwest, Kauai, & the Good Red Road we all are travelling on. The only concern I have is that the Timtex is bending a little at the point where the rays meet the sun. But once it all gets glued down onto my base, I think it will be ok. (Did I mention I'm thinking of painting some panels & gluing these all down? With the month & some sort of journalling below? We'll see how it works out!) So here's some pics:

Working on Aloha Dolls

Worked some on my Aloha Dolls for the Comfort Doll project. The problem I had was designing a doll that had to be only 6". But I did it...makes for tiny stitches & tough turning, but she's getting there....at least the first one is! :) Now I'm putting a picot edge on her. Think I'll leave her simple like that & just add a tag. Hope someone loves her. I really try to work on her when I feel peaceful & fill her with that same energy.

Hurricanes, Tsunamis & Earthquakes...oh, my!

OK...a little late posting this week! Hurricane Flossie decided to scare us, but fizzled out at the end. Then Big Island had an earthquake. Then Peru had their earthquake & the civil defense was called out here for a tsunami warning!!! For all the prep & warning...nada. Zippo. Poof. But better safe than sorry I guess.

So someone said they envied my neat or tidy work space. Well, that's 'cuz I usually only show the small clear spot I bead on. I decided to show what's really around & behind me. Yes, that's a chair full of handmade paper that I have no where to file...and I sure could use the top of that table to work on, but it's a "holding area" for now...so is what's under it! AND completely behind me is a closet I don't dare open for fear all my supplies will come tumbling out! I guess I've just learned to be able to create in the middle of chaos. In fact, sometimes it's the only thing that can keep me calm!!!

Cheers all!

You'd Think I'd Learn

OK...so what was my problem last month? Tall, long pointy things!!! Bead stacks!!! So what do I use as a motif for my August BJP? A sun with lots of long, pointy rays!!! AAAaaack! How many times do I have to learn that thread just loves to stick in those kinda things??? Oh, well. At least this one will be faster than last month!!! Plus I'm learning to bead with the project held over my head so that gravity can do it's thing! ;)

Here's the beginning....I decided to paint the motif instead of adding more fabric:

Then I chose the focal rock & other colors I want to use for this month:

If you look really close at the piece of turquoise, you may see what I do...someone sitting down on the ground or a blanket? Maybe Kokopelli? Well, anyway, the nugget reminds me of all the rock hounding trips we took as kids on summer vacations. The person/image reminds me of my pal, Canolli, & I going on our petroglyph trips & telling people we just came to the South West to "sit in the dirt"! :) See if you can find it:

So next I picked some matte Delicas to encase the nugget. Used peyote stitch around it & had a dickens of a time with the last tightening row. The nugget isn't a perfectly shaped cab, but I like things that aren't so perfect! :) So, here is where I'm at now:

CC Spaghetti signing off for the week!

Comfort Dolls with Aloha

So, I designed an Aloha doll for the Comfort Doll project. She's really simple. I'm using aloha fabric & beading a heart on her. Once she's sewn & stuffed, I'll decide if I want to add any other embellishments. Here's the beginning of 2 of them:

Oh, and a peek at my August BJP piece!

July is PAU!

OK...didn't have a chance to post yesterday, but wanted to reinforce those limp stacks anyway! So today I did just that. See here:

They're still a little bent, but that's ok!

Now here is the finished piece. After all the angst I had with the fabric, I couldn't cover it all in the end! I had to leave some, but how much? As I worked, I saw the outline of a bird. That made me think of an old pal who has passed. We called him "The Crow". He thought it was because it was his totem animal. Maybe he just squacked alot. In any case, I saw it & had to leave some color in it too. Can you find it? I have lots of good memories of The Crow in the summer time! :)

Now I'm on to August! I have my motif for the month ready to cut out...but this time NO FABRIC!!! I'm gonna paint the Timtex!!! AND...use rocks! Big ones! :D At least in comparison to this month!

Oh, & pau is "finished" in Hawaiian!

Happy Beading!