bjp 0812 - a measure of citrus

The summer of 2012 has been fabulous!  I mean weatherwise of course, as my work life has been busy and limited my leisure activities.  But that's beside the point!!  My August bead journal is a celebration of the sun.......the warmth, the colour, the sweet tartness of lemonade and orange juice, the flowers that peak in August and the sunny dispositions of those enjoying the last full month of summer!

I rushed out to shop for beads at a couple of local haunts, but arrived home to discover that my citrus stash was already quite healthy. Sigh!  Don't you just hate when you do that?  This section contains a silver spiral from when I first learned the technique, vintage flower sequins, a couple of small washers painted with orange Vintag Patina (thanks Deb for being an excellent consumer) and then distressed with Baroque Arts, Guilder's Paste in copper.  The golden square is a small tile that was part of a mosaic kit I purchased 10 - 15 years ago (originally for a small tray, I think).  Don't you just love finding stuff you spent your hard earned money on, but never used??  Now I'd like to say that doesn't happen all that often, but I suspect I would be lying.  How about you?

I thought the washers, stacked one on top of the other, made a perfect "8"!  Did you spot my intent?  The oval, dark reddish bead (close to the black "8") is a stone of some sort.  Purchased and utilized for colour and definitely not for pedigree!!

The perfect match of old and older, mixed in with a dash of new (beads, beads and more beads) and a bit of distressed!  While making a small attempt at cleaning a sewing drawer, I discovered a well used measuring tape tucked way at the back.  It probably dates back to my sewing days in Vancouver, but has not been used for it's original garment making purpose in years.  It had yellowed with age and I distressed it even further with a dusting of gold Perfect Pearls.  I thought that I was actually tarting it up with a little sparkle, but it doesn't really show in the photos, so what do I know?  The vintage crystal button is one of my favourites (I know, I know, I keep on saying that) and I paired it up with a couple more of the family button box refugees.  The distressed red bit next to the yellow button is another of Kaite's finds from her wanderings in Bathurst, NSW, Australia.  I believe that it's a zipper pull! There's a little gold ring behind the crystal button.  I have no idea what it is or where I found it, but I suspect that one day, I'll be needing it for something!

Back to the measuring tape......I used to make many of my own clothes.......I wonder if I ever will again?  I did love the challenge of a Vogue pattern, but confess that I don't really know squat about tailoring, so wasted an awful lot of material.  I don't even know how many outfits ended up rolled in a ball and thrown against the wall!!!  At least with beading, mixed media and fibre art, I'm not tempted to do that.......Oh I know, now they're called U.F.O.'s!  Heh, heh, heh......

The finished piece, but it seems I cut off the peak of the roof!  I'll fix that later...when I figure out how!  The colours are not necessarily in my comfort zone, but I have to admit that they make a definite statement.  Now the question is, what are they trying to say?

Stitches used: - back, stacked and boucle/bocce. 

Other fasteners: - E6000 glue for the tile and washers and Aleene's tacky glue for the measuring tape and corrugated cardboard.


I wonder what September will bring?

bjp 0712 - raspberry and lime

July is late and was a bit of a challenge for me.  I sprained my wrist and although not my dominant hand, I found that I still couldn't bead.  Perhaps if I had a "third hand".....you know, one of those clip things....but I didn't, so decided to put my playthings away until the pain was gone.  Surprisingly, healing took longer than I thought it should, but it's good now, so life progresses!!

During my vacation from beads, I dreamed up the raspberry/lime colour scheme.  Not a new one to me, but one that I find particularly refreshing, even though I'm not really a "pink" person.  I even visited a couple of bead stores to beef up the stash.  Did I really need to do that?  Definitely not, but it seems to be a ritual I follow with these journals, so who am I to stifle the muse?  The distressed, metal "7" is actually a new charm that my sister found in Michaels (she sent me more than a few packages of charms, so you'll be seeing more of these lovely mixed media treasures in future projects).  The silver owl is from my stash and this section also showcases a paper clip, a little bit of sequin waste (thanks, Mary Anne!), a millifiori bead, from a string I picked up years ago, a new lantern bead and an abalone shell button (one that's apparently way too shiny for a good photograph).

The squished and naturally distressed metal button was gifted to me from my friend Kaite in Australia ( she picked it up at the side of some road).  The white one (enhanced with a bit of Guilder's Paste) is from the family button box.

Another wee giftie from Kaite -- the top of an old knitting needle.  If you check out her blog, you'll realize that knitting needles are something very precious to her!  Clever Kaite!  I would never have come up with this idea in a million years!!!  Of course, in my defense, I'm not a knitter.......

My vintage button pick for July!!  Also a little "Love" charm that was part of a swap package from someone a while ago.  I confess that I have no idea who sent this particular package, but it contains some lovely things that are certainly fated to appear in future bead journals.  If it was "you", my apologies, but if you let me know, I'll credit you on the blog.

The finished piece!!!  I started out not liking it very much, but it grew on me during the process and I find that I'm really quite fond of it now!  It seems that every time I'm away from beading (or anything else artsy) for a while, it's a huge chore to persuade myself to get back into it.  Does anyone else experience that same effect?  I think it's a sulky muse!!!! What do you think?

My normal rogue, range of stiches including back, stacked, flower and bocce/boucle stitch.

The background for August is already painted, so I expect to start on it soon....................stay tuned!!