The Charmed Life: Grateful Artist

Showing posts with label Grateful Artist. Show all posts

Saturday, June 14, 2014

A 15-Beader Hop (A 15-Beader Hop)

(to be sung to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island Theme Song")

(except for the part where I name the beaders of the beadie islands)

Just sit right back and you'll take a trip,

A trip on an ocean hop

That started from my own Bead Cave

And goes until you stop.

The host is a mighty beading babe,

With published works and such.

She favors ocean themes and so

This hop shows Lisa's touch.

The beads arrived by US mail,

In color green and teal,

With findings, fish and anchor beads

To make the beaders squeal. (Make the beaders squeal.)

The blog set out on the shores of the uncharted blogosphere,

With Jewel School Friends,

And Wanderware,

Spun Sugar Beadworks, The Charmed Life,

Texas Pepper Jams,

Carolyn's Creations,

Catherine's Musings, Chat 2 Jill

Shaiha's Ramblings and Ema K Designs,

Bead Recipes, Eclectic Endeavours,
Kayz Kreationz and Raindrop Creations

Here on Lisa's Blog Hop!

So this is the tale of beading babes,

We string and wrap and weave,

We hope you like our beadie things

Because we'll never leave.

Please join us for this beadie hop,

And see what we create,

From 15 crazy beading babes,

In our most recent spate.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

The Owls to Whom We Refer: Into the Forest Blog Hop

The lovely Lisa Lodge is hosting a blog hop. It's theme: Into the Forest.

And so into the forest we go...

I started with this mix of beads from Lisa.

I added two owls...

...some sari silk...

And a poem by Jack Prelutsky...

There's a wide-eyed owl

With a pointed nose,

He has pointed ears,

And claws for toes.

He sits in a tree

And looks at you,

The flaps his wings, and says,

"Who...who...whoo!"

An unassuming owl

Having little else to do

Remarked within the darkness

A discreet and subtle, “Whoooo!”

A self-important owl,

Puffed and pompous in the gloom,

Responded with an overblown,

And condescending, “Whoooooom!”

And the leaves?

I had to leaf them alone.

Take a trip into the forest with these other jewelry artists:

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Monique Urquhart, A Half-Baked Notion

Janet Bocciardi, Honey from the Bee

Dini Bruinsma, Angaza by Changes

Heather Richter, Desert Jewelry Designs

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales

Elizabeth Engriser, Bead Contagion

Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming

Alicia Marinache, All the Pretty Things

Kay Mallery,TBD

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine's Musings

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Beads of Peace and Harmony Meet the Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop

The lovely Lisa Lodge has launched another blog hop, with bead packs of lampwork and clay. I needed a challenge.

I got it. I received these beautiful beads... with REALLY big holes for my usual bag of tricks. And they were so beautiful that they needed to be set off in interesting ways.

I paged through books of designs looking for guidance.

I tried new techniques with laughable results.

Finally I turned to my stash.

Yes. I have too many beads.

And a story started to emerge, and from the story, three new pieces: asymmetrical earrings, a necklace, and a pendant.

~~~~~~

Once upon a time there was a box of beads and they could not get along.

"We come from the sea, so we are better than you," said the beach glass.

"We lived deep in the earth, alongside the Morlocks," said the gemstone beads. "Clearly we are superior."

"We're nuts!" said the nut beads. "We don't care."

"We're recycled glass. We're morally superior," said the recycled glass beads.

And so it went, with all the beads arguing and rolling on the ground.

Finally a bead of lampwork glass spoke up. "Can't we all just get along?" she asked.

This sounded vaguely familiar to the beads, so they stopped rolling for a moment to listen.

"It is true we come from all the corners of the earth," she continued.

"The earth doesn't have corners," muttered the polymer clay beads.

But the lampwork glass bead pressed on. "And from the seven seas... and lots of oceans, too."

"Hath not a bead holes?" she asked. "Hath not a bead edges, drill marks, mandrel scratches, finishes... blasted in the same kilns, tossed by the same waters, dug out from the same earth?"

"If you drop us, do we not roll away? If you string us, do we not make harmony with the beads beside us? If you wrap us too tightly, do we not crack?"

"If you discard us, do we not trip the family dog? If you string us, are we not strung? If you wire us, are we not wired? If you wrap us, are we not... um... wrapped?"

The beads murmured and rolled amongst themselves. They considered the words of the lampwork bead. "She has a point!" said the pearls.

"No, that's just a flaw," said the lampworks. "Happens to the best of us."

"She could be right," said the pressed glass beads.

"I don't know. I'm nuts! said the nut beads.

But as they looked at each other (through beady little eyes) they had to agree that, no matter what their origins, they had a lot in common.

And so, without further ado, they rolled together, joined holes, and decided to bead all that they could bead.

And they all lived in pieces of harmony until the next time they had the same discussion. In fact, they are all up for auction to provide aid for the Phillipines. Check out the auction on my FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/Cornerstoregoddess. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the asymmetrical earrings, the necklace, and the pendant will go to International Relief Teams, who rate in the top 1% of all charities in terms of financial performance, accountability and transparency.

Now go see what the other beads are up to. Here's the hop list. And remember: bead all that you can bead.

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Annette Rivers, MamaOwl's Mess

Karin King, The Sparkle Things Blog

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Mimi Gardner, Baubles, Beads and Other Curiosities

Dee Alcalde, Agape Creations Jewelry

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Linda Aspenson Bergstrom, TBD

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Connie Tipton, TBD

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

Michele Dotson, Star Jewels

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Jennifer Clifford, TBD

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Loretta, Loretta's Boutique

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Witch's Broom and a Blog Hop

The lovely Lisa Lodge of Grateful Artist organized this blog hop. The theme is Summer Color Surprise and, along with a fine bag o' beads, each participant received a focal. My focal is a ceramic broom, created by Marla James.

Together with the beads Lisa sent, with rich warm forest tones and bits of jasper and glass, the broom told a story... which became a bracelet.

There once was a witch of Khartoum,

With black cats and bats, and of whom

She asked, “Tell me truly

Why my spell’s unruly?

I can’t cast a spell in a tomb!”

Her potions were fetid and foul;

The very scent made the cats howl.

No deeds she predicted,

Her powers restricted,

She almost threw in the dish tow’l.

“If only, if only,” she cried,
“I had a broom like others ride,
I could cast spells, stir potions,
Pursue witchly notions,

And broadcast my powers worldwide.”

For days did the witch snarl and fume,

Stomping about in her room

Until owl, bat, and cat

Had enough of all that

And convened in the witch's boardroom.

“A broom is what’s needed, and now,
Though we’re lacking in skill and know-how.
With a magical mopper
Then nothing could stop her,”
So did all the animals vow.