The Gift

This is a profound video that expresses exactly how I feel about having Breast Cancer. It is something I would never wish on anyone, yet it opened my eyes and my mind in a way that nothing else could. My life is better now because of it. Please watch it.
Sorry that part of it is cut off. I don't know how to fix it, but I think you can get the message without seeing the whole picture.

Chalk Horses and Sugar Skulls

A few years back, I visited England and was amazed by the Chalk Horses that are carved into the hillsides there. This one was on the Salisbury Plains.

So I asked Nan Emmett at Spirited Earth if she could make me a few Chalk Horse cabs to bead around and she made me 3 stunning examples. Here are 2 of them already beaded  (I haven't done the third yet).

I think she did a great job of capturing the magic and beauty of the Chalk Horse.

I've also been making beaded Sugar Skulls for all of my friends who celebrate Day of the Dead (November 2nd). I love this holiday for it's reverence of our ancestors and our loved ones who have passed on, and it's a most colorful and creative celebration.

I'll have these brooches and more on my Etsy shop momentarily. Please stop by.

Also - Congratulations to Mermaiden for winning last months Giveaway  (Beading Book). This month's giveaway is this Sepia Heart Brooch made with another fabulous cab by Spirited Earth.

Practical Magic - "The Man I Wished For"

I'm posting my Practical Magic Blog Party post a day early so that my sister in South Africa can see it on the proposed date (the 25th).
One of my favorite parts of the movie was when a young Sally stirs up a spell to attract a man that could never exist (at least she thought so).  Years later, he walks into her life and delivers the line "I wished for you too".
It made me think about when I was young and dreamy, wishing for my Prince Charming.
Well, I met said Prince when I was 16, only didn't realize he was The One until I was 18. Married him at 20 and have been by his side for 33 years.
So this is my magic I have conjured up to celebrate the love of my life, the answer to my wishes.

I beaded this frame to hold of picture of Sweety when I first met him - back in our hippy days.

I added symbols of our life and our love. This Celtic Knot represents the ties that have bound us through the years- Our children, our home, our extended families and such.

The sun and the moon represent the  fact that we are basically opposites. He's a big city boy, I'm a country girl, he likes action movies, I'm into Jane Austen, he's very focused and driven, and I'm creative and spacey.

The Labyrinth represents the path that we have walked together. Lots of twists and turns, but no dead ends.

And the Key shows that he was able to unlock my heart and that it belongs only to him.

I never had to resort to a spell to bring me my Sweety. We found each other on our own, but there is definitely some kind of magic out there that is responsible for taking 2 people who are so different and making them love each other so much.

Winged Aquaterra And Beaded Pendents

I have fallen in love with a stone I found at my favorite bead shop. It's called Aquaterra and I think it is STUNNING. Here I made a brooch from a small aquaterra bead and some verdi gris wings.

Here's a larger bead that I set with matte black beads and celedon opalescent beads.

I have a fair this week-end that I'm taking them to. If they don't sell there, they will be in my Etsy shop later next week. If they do sell, I'll be making more, so keep checking back.

This pendent is made for anyone who wants to create the necklace part themselves. I don't care for stringing and don't feel it's really my forte. I have a repeat customer, Arlene, that is a beader herself, but doesn't do this type of  bead embroidery. We did some trading a while back (She's the lovely lady who made the beaded hippocampus). She has since ordered a couple of custom beaded pendents that she can create the necklace part for by herself. I love this arrangenment since I am not crazy about stringing. So I have decided to create a few pendents to put in my Etsy shop for other beaders who are more into stringing than bead embroidery. Which leads me to a question - How many of you purchase (or trade) beaded embellishments or other beaded items from differant beaders to use in your own projects? I have seen some fabulous pieces that I would love to work into my own designs.
If you make something from a piece you bought from another artist, could you resell it as your own since you "finished" it? Or would you have to sell it as a co-created piece? And would you be able to sell it on Etsy, where each piece is supposed to be created by the seller?

Mama and Babies in the Garden

If you are afraid of snakes, turn the page! I found this mama snake and her 5 babies in the garden today (one of the babies was shy and wouldn't come out from under the bush). The babies were VERY inquisitive and not a bit afraid of me as I took their picture.

The babies clustered around their mother's head, like maybe she was communicating, or giving them a nuzzle.

This little guy poked his head out to see what I was up to, and then ducked back into the bush.

I think most people are afraid of snakes because they get startled by them in the garden. But they are very beneficial, eating hundreds of insects and if they are bigger, (like Mama here) they eat small rodents as well.

Give snakes a break!

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to MoonRae for winning the Angel Brooch in last month's Give-Away. Since MoonRae lives in Texas and the angel cab was created in Texas, it's almost as if the little angel is returning home.

Leave a comment in any of this month's posts to win a copy of The Beading Answer Book by Karen Morris.

Back to the Light Box

It's raining today - a mixed blessing. It has been so dry and hot here, the rain is most welcome. Being a true Oregonian, I rather prefer it cool and moist (hence my nickname "Mushroom"). But there is one reason that I will be sad to see the sun go away. I take my photos on the back porch where the fiberglass roof diffuses the sun just so. I prefer to have a certain amount of color in my Etsy photos. And since my favorite color is green, I usually have a picture or two of each item photographed against a green leaf from the sorbaria bush outside of my porch. I also often include a carved wand I bought for my husband in Glastonbury, England. A little green, a little magic....

But with the disappearance of the sun, I can no longer take my photos on the back porch and have to use a light box instead. Up until the first frosts, I can still include the requisite sorbaria leaf, but after the New Year, it's all rather....white. I'm not a fan of white, although it does show off the piece with no distractions.

So what do you think? Do you prefer the stark and uncluttered image from the light box or the colorful image from the back porch?