bjp0714 - coastal shades

Now for a leaf of a completely different flavour! It was finished mid-August, and is based on a trip to the west coast, to visit my family. Verdant blues and greens, have a calming effect on me, so how fitting to focus July's efforts, on mountains, water, calm and simplicity.......it just seemed right! I chose not to complicate the stitches and beads, and limited my 'extras' to the face cabochon and a shell from the beach. I know, I know.....it's not like me to do simple, restrained, or even a pictoral!.....I guess that I'm just not willing to be categorized!!!! As the post should reflect the mood of the leaf, I'll be ending it now. But before I leave, I ask you to reflect back, on your memories of the sun on your face, the rich smell of the forest and the sound of waves on the beach. Perfection!

bjp 0614 - flying in circles

Why is it, that time flies so fast, that it seems you're spinning in circles? One day, warps into the rest, and very little gets accomplished.....sigh! This bead journal is all about the passing of time and the use of unconventional objects. Found objects, gifts from friends, watch parts, glass nuggets and vintage components, are mixed in with new beads and the odd houshold treasure. Nothing is left out, and all will be used to mark the passage of time. These are my memories, and although I may not remember the individual stories, I will remember my treasured items, as the years progress. It's good enough for me! How do you plan to leave your mark, for future generations? A clean house, is not enough! Promise me, that you'll take some time for yourself....

I won't need to buy vintage jewelery components for a while, as I won a bid for a nice bag of them, from a seller on EBay. Of course, lessons learned are a)the exchange rate, and b) that shipping is expensive. I have promised myself to only bid on exceptional and/or very light items, in the future. LOL! Nothing unusual in my stitches, just the regular posse of peyote, back, stacked and boucle/bocce/moss. I love the warm colours, the watch parts and the bezels in this leaf! It was actually finished early in July, but bad blogger that I am, I just didn't get around to writing about it until now. For those of you that are still doing this, how do you manage to keep up? I do have good intentions, and still love the process, but time evaporates, and all of a sudden, my blog post is two months late. Boo, hoo to me!! Yikes!!! The bad news is, that I haven't even started on my July bead journal....soon, I promise, soon......but then there are class samples to make.....don't worry, I'll find the time to squeeze it all in, somehow........