Well... Finally!

I thought, since it's a New Year... a "new beginning"... that today would be a good day to finally post about my Beaded Cuff.

I've been working on it, off and on, for a *while* now.  =-)

Don't ask me how long it took to bead it...  I really don't know. 

I don't keep up with that kind of thing when i'm on a project.

My husband would be good at that type of thing, though.

...but i didn't ask him at the beginning of this project, to do that for me, so...

Sorry.  Just suffice to say that it took 

"a while".  =-)

Part of the reason for that is that there were plenty of times where the cuff simply *sat* on my desk... waiting...  

Waiting for me to pick it up again.

Then, there were those times when i worked on it for *hours* at a time:

boring days,

and most especially on those 4-hour rides to Beaufort, SC to see my Mom.

*Lots* of productive time then!

Before i let you see it (assuming you haven't already scrolled down of your own accord!) please allow me to babble a bit.  =-)

I don't remember how i got the idea for this thing, but once i did, i just *had* to make it.  =-)

I have some crushed velvet in my stash that i've had for a looong time.  

I don't even remember where it came from, or how long i've had it.  I *think* i got it when i used to make purses/bags.  

Anyway.

I got the idea to use up some of these beads i have lying around in my cabinet.  

(I've had them a long time too.  I've always wanted to do something with them, but never knew *what*...) 

Anyway.

I decided i wanted to make me a beaded cuff on that velvet.

(I guess i must tell you that it's not *really* velvet... but i don't know what it is, so... it's "velvet", okay?)

I originally thought i'd use a Coke can as the "underbelly"... the "base"... the "stabilizer" for the cuff,but as i went on with the project, i found out i didn't really wanna do it that way.

Okay.

Pause.

Rewind.

Rethink.

Pause some more.

Talk to friends about "what to do", "what to do".

My friend Pat (from the Y) suggested what i should use to "stiffen" up the "innards" like i was thinking i should.  I forget what the stuff is called, but it was BRIGHT yellow.  I mean brighter than Highlighter Yellow!  And it was kinda canvas-like, and kinda hole-y.  I dunno what it was, but it was some Embroidery or Crewel material that's a bit stiff.

Bingo!

Thanks Pat!  =-)

And, Yes.

I individually hand-sewed *each* and *every* bead onto the "velvet".

Yes. It took a long time.

It took a very long time.

BUT!

I enjoyed it.

For some people, it would drive them batty.

But for me, i truly enjoyed it.  

It's a time to slow down.

A time to think about other things.

A time to relax into a soothing rhythm of string bead, poke needle, pull thread, tie knot, poke needle, pull thread.  Repeat.

Soothing.

For someone like me, anyway.  =-)

And once i finally completed the beading, it was so wonderful!

Satisfying that i accomplished such a "daunting" task; a project i've never really tried before.   

And this is something that's "All Me"!

I didn't have any type of "pattern".

No Tutorial or Instructions from anyone else.

No Pattern whatsoever!

This one is "All Me", Baby!  =-)

So, please enjoy!   =-)

Wendy's Beaded Cuff in the late afternoon Sun

But... See that little "string" up there?

On the upper Left?

...Yeah.

That's where a bead has already been broken off!

Can you believe it?!  I've only worn it like 3 or 4 times, and

i've already *broken* it!

I think i can fix it, though.

And i'm STILL wearing it!

ONE little broke-off bead is NOT gonna make me STOP wearing it!

I love it too much.

=-)

Yep.  There's that little "string"...

Taunting me again

"Nah-nah, nah-nah, nah!" and sticking its tongue out at me.

Well, i'm STILL wearing it, so

THERE!

Hmph!

 Why, yes, it *does* close with Snaps!    (I  originally thought about Velcro, but changed my mind)

 See?!  Those *are* Snaps.  =-)

 And the Inside shot...

 The Centerfold Shot  =-)

(Does this count as "Porn"?)

I've "busted" a bead off of it already!
I'll have to see if i can fix that before any more come off!

But i  love it anyway!  =-)

So, i hope you've enjoyed this post!
I'm pretty proud of my Beaded Cuff (if you couldn't already tell).  =-)
And it goes with pretty much *everything*
which is always a Bonus.  =-)


And the truly flattering part?
My little sister, Z?
The *really* *picky* sister?
She LOVES it and wants me to make one for her!!!  (Just not quite so wide...)


(And i take that as *quite* the Compliment!)


I hope you're having a Super Fantastic Wonderful Day!!!


And
by the way


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!


=-)

Sorry...

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but with the holiday, and the family gatherings, i've been a bit busy.
Also, my Mom's husband is in the hospital, so Boyfriend & i are once again in Beaufort, SC taking care of Mom.
Her Alzheimer's is really getting worse, too.  Her husband doesn't leave her alone anymore.  Her short-term memory is SHOT! 
So, wish us luck!  It's gonna be a looong week or so.


I  hope you're having a WONDERFUL holiday, and please have a SAFE and Happy New Year!!!


=-)

No New Painting

Sorry.  No picture today.
I guess i could use one of Bunny's photos, but...  
I dunno.  We'll see.  =-)


Anyway, i mentioned in a post the other day something about getting an idea while i was in Yoga class.
Actually, that has happened a number of times for me.
I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but sometimes i'll have a problem or some situation will be buggin' me, and while i'm in Yoga, 
suddenly 
that problem will become clear; 
a solution for the situation will suddenly appear in my head.


And that's really nice.  
And comforting.


It's happened when i was working on a quilt and got "stuck" in a place of "i don't know what to do now" or "i don't know how to do this next step", 
and then,
in class,
when i wasn't even thinking about my quilt,
suddenly,
BAM!  There it is.  There's how to work out my sewing problem.


And while working on that Beaded Cuff that i still haven't finished (just sayin'!), i've had technical issues that have finally been resolved while in Yoga class.


And when i was feelin' sooo bad about Kitty, and not knowin' what to do for her, during one class a really good idea occurred to me that i will be able to do to help others in the future, since Kitty doesn't want to try it for herself.


And that time, a few months ago, when i was falling into an old deep, dark place...
I forced myself to get up out of bed anyway.
I forced myself to drive to class anyway.
I forced myself to get out of the truck and go into the Studio anyway.
But do't let me mislead you.  Yoga didn't miraculously make me feel Bright-Eyed & Bushy-Tailed, but it DID help me begin to feel better.  And one lady noticed how badly i was feeling, and she stood there and hugged me.  
Even though i told her i didn't want a hug.
But it helped.  =-)
(And i didn't break down crying like i thought i would.)  =-)



So Yoga class is good for me in many ways!  It's good physically, but it's also good mentally and spiritually.  It's just good all around!




I love it!!!

So...
What helps you figure out how to work out something?  Or what helps you feel better?


(I know you're showing up to look.  I have a Counter on here.  Why not leave a little comment?  Even if it's to tell me that this post is Lame.)  =-)




And, since this post seems to be about Sunshine breaking through the clouds:

photo by Bunny

I hope you have a SUPER Wonderful Day!!!

=-)

Nineteenth Painting

I started this online course with Connie thinking i couldn't paint... 

Well, that's not totally true.  After doing the free "Total Alignment" course, i *thought* i *might* be able to paint a *little*...  if i *really* tried.   =-)

But i discovered it doesn't really matter if i *can* paint or *not*

because 

I LOVE TO PAINT!!!

I love the way i *feel*  when i paint!

And Connie taught me that it's not about the end-product anyway, but about the verb, the actual act of painting.

AND I LOVE IT!

The fact that i typically like the end product is just BONUS.

Sprinkles on my Cupcake.

A "nice bedtime story & warm glass of milk at the end of a beautiful day" plus.

I can't believe i actually LOVE to Paint!

And so, i thought i'd share my "last" BIG painting with you.

I woke up one morning with the idea that i had to paint a Honu.  

("Honu" is Hawaiian for Sea Turtle)

So after my Yoga class, and after giving my Dad *his* Yoga class, i got my paints out and painted a fairly decent Honu.

... then i didn't know what to do.

So i left it hanging there.

But the next day, in my Yoga class, i suddenly realized that the painting wasn't about the Honu.

It was alllll about the Water!

So i worked on it a couple of days, and here it is, all 34" x 42" of it:

(not quite finished, but almost; photo taken inside)

(completed Painting; photo taken outside) 

I love it!

(Matter of fact, it's hanging in my "studio"; i have an entire room set up for my Art-making and Yoga.  "Thank you SO MUCH Boyfriend!!")

I think it's funny how my Paintings never end up being like the original picture in my head, but i've discovered

That's Okay!  =-)

I guess that's to be expected when you're listening to... the Painting... Creative Source... my Inner Muse, what-have-you.  

Just let it Flow.

Thank you so much Connie!

This has been SUPER!

I've discovered that i LOVE to paint, and it makes me feel SO GOOD inside!

I plan to continue, since it's so good for me.  =-)

It makes my day Better.

It makes me Happy.

It makes me "More Complete".

...it's just shocking that i never discovered this before.  

I'm 48 years old, for goodness' sake, and i'm JUST NOW discovering this?!

That's okay, though.

At least Connie helped me get here.  

Now it's up to me to continue it.

I hope you're having a WONDERFUL day!!!

Life's too short to be having a bad day.

=-)

Eighteenth Painting

Whoah!

I disappeared for a bit there.

Sorry 'bout that!

I got caught up in some other stuff and didn't have time to blog.

So!  Here we are, back to our "regular program".  =-)

I've been writing about an online painting course i took with Connie, called BIG Fearless Painting.

LOVE!

Did i already tell you how much i loved it?!

'Cause i CERTAINLY Loved it!!!  =-)

I still love painting, but truth be told, i haven't really painted since the course ended... 

Sad, but true.

But that's NOT 'cause i don't like painting!

I LOVE PAINTING!!!

...i'm just not too sure of what to paint, and i haven't done one vital thing: i haven't MADE time each day to paint.

I've been doodling in my Notebook, so that's good.  =-)

But i'm not standing up and painting BIG, so that's not too good...

BUT!!!

I HAVE ordered one of the art books that Connie recommended, and it should be here in a day or two, so THAT'S good.  =-)

Anyway, i came here to tell you about my 18th Painting.

Okay, for this exercise, Connie told us to think about

"What does it feel like to be me?"

... ummm...

WHAT?!

This exercise had me stymied.

...what does it feel like to be me...?!

I have no idea what it "feels like" to be me!  I've always *been* me, so i don't know how it feels to be anybody else!  What do you mean, "what does it feel like to be me!?!"

But after i let that settle in for awhile, i started thinking.

...Well, it's kinda...

...I'm kinda dreamy...

...and floaty...

...and swimmy...

I didn't really have a "pre-conceived" idea when i started this one.  But with "dreamy" and "floaty", I just got out a *bunch* of blue paints, and i began.

Then it needed orange...

and yellow...

and then some !Raspberry!  I'm lovin' Raspberry lately!  =-)

Sorry but i had to resort to taking the pictures inside, where the lighting for a camera isn't really great. 

In the meantime, here's the best photo i have.

I think this Painting is fairly juvenile, but it's what came out.

I just "painted with the Flow".   =-)

This is a preliminary photo of the Painting "in process":

And here's a shot of it, *almost* completed:

... um, i don't think i have a "final" shot...

Crap!!!  I thought i had a finished shot, but i don't!  I looked all over my 'puter, but i never took one!  I guess i didn't take it because i was gonna wait for a Sunny day, but then, when the Sun finally decided to shine,  i'd moved on to other things and forgot!

...hmm...

I'm sorry.  I honestly don't know if i'll *ever* get a "final shot".  Just sayin'.

I added some white highlights, is all.

Anyway.

The full title is
"Floaty, Dreamy, Swimmy
Usually Good, Sometimes Sad"


Because i'm typically never "just one thing"; i vascillate.
Today i like something, and tomorrow i'm not really fond of it.
Today i want something, and tomorrow i'm not interested.
Today i feel good, and tomorrow i'm depressed.

(Though lately, with all the painting i've been doing, i've been feeling GREAT! =-) )


I hope YOU've been feeling great too!  =-)

I apologize again for being absent for a couple of days.

Shit happens, ya know.

Hopefully i'll keep up now.  

=-)

Seventeenth Painting

In Connie's course, BIG, we were encouraged to paint by "going with the flow"... "listening to the Painting"... "painting what we're feeling".

After my scribbling, and shapes, and painting like a 5-year-old, and the serious Memory paintings, i felt like painting "without a plan".

...actually, i had a bit of a plan, but of course, once again, the "plan" in my head was NOT what came out onto the paper.  =-)

My "plan" was to paint the night sky, and then to paint a Big Moon.

...well, i painted that, and then i walked away 'til the next day.

Ha.  

The next day, that Moon suddenly became a Girl!

And then a moon showed up small & in the upper corner.

So i learned that when you're painting "from your feelings", the picture will most likely *not* (almost never, hardly ever) turn out like the one in your head!

Here she is, Gothic Moon Girl  (Sorry. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the pic; just turn your head to the left):

It's hard to tell from a picture, but she's kinda big.  

She's 28" x 34".

I'm not crazy in love, but i think she's alright.  =-)

And that's okay.

I hope you're having a great day today.  

If not, try this for me (just humor me a little):

Right now, 

just where you are,

turn your head up and say "Haa ha ha!" loudly!

You have to do it really loud so the air is forced out of your lungs.

You'll feel silly, but you'll also feel something else.

I'm not gonna tell you what you'll feel.

You'll have to find out for yourself.

=-)

Thanks for stopping by!  See you tomorrow!  =-)

Sixteenth Painting

I took Connie's on-line painting course, BIG, and i've been posting about it here.

I finished this course a week or so ago, but i've delayed posting 'til now.  The timing simply worked better for me.  But i journaled a bit during the course, so it's like you were there with me!  =-)

Anyway, today's painting was another Contour Painting.

I drew the contour with a regular Ball Point pen, and then painted it with watered-down Acrylics.  I used "close to real" colors this time, instead of my usual brights or "odd" colors.  The only thing is, i forgot to paint in my white hairs (some people call them grey... whatev), and i didn't paint the background...  But, honestly?  I'm done with this one.

Again, i don't love it, but i don't hate it.  So, it just is.

It's practice with faces, is what i think it is.

So there.

I did it, and *that's* the important part.  =-)

Have a look:

Again, Boyfriend said, "You look way better than that."
That's sweet.  Not that he thinks i look better, but that he thinks i could actually *draw* a *realistic-looking* person!  Ha ha ha!  =-)


Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you have a SUPER DAY today!!!


=-)

Fifteenth

Sorry, but this one isn't really a Painting.  Well, it is, but it's not.

In Connie's course, BIG, she asked us to do a Blind Contour drawing, and then to paint it.  She warned us that we'd probably end up with something very "Picasso-like", so i knew it would be funky

and that it's okay.  =-)

A Blind Contour drawing (of yourself) is where you look in the mirror, but NOT at your paper, and you draw "the edges" of what you see.  It's a good exercise.  They do it in "real" Art classes... at Colleges and Universities and everything!  =-)

Anyway.

So i tried it.

I don't really like it, but that doesn't matter.  It's definitely NOT supposed to be a Masterpiece or anything.  =-)

...but i must confess.  I had to cheat.

I just *had* to! [whine when you read that]

When i was doing the eyes, i couldn't stop myself from looking at my paper!

Whew! Confession really is good for the soul.  =-)

See it for yourself:

I painted it with "odd" colors again.  I wasn't going for "realistic" here, once again.  I like painting with bright, vibrant colors.  I decided to go sort of Pastel-ish here, though.

I don't love it, but i don't hate it either.  It just is.

I look at it as an exercise in getting me to paint a face, without allowing my Inner Critic to be able to say anything about it because i had the "Perfect" excuse of, "I wasn't able to look at it while i was doing it! *NO*body could do a "perfect" face without looking!"  [again, with the whining!]

Anyway, again, this was in my Notebook.

Drawn with a regular Ball Point pen.

Painted with Acrylics (watered down).

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope your day is MARVELOUS!!!

=-)

Fourteenth Painting

I've been taking an on-line painting course (called BIG) with Connie.

I decided to post my results here.

Okay, so once again it's a picture from my Notebook.

Connie wanted us to do a Contour Painting of ourselves...

A Contour Painting is when you simply paint the outline or the edges of your subject.  For this, i had to look in the mirror, then at my paper; mirror, paper, mirror, paper.  You get the idea.

This is what i "came up with".  =-)

Not really too happy with the results, but that's not the point.

I think this exercise was to help us get an idea that faces aren't really as difficult to do as we might think.  To help us stop avoiding trying to paint faces.   To let us know that our faces may not come out like we would like, but that it's okay.  It's not like it's Brain Surgery!  It's okay, however it comes out.  =-)

So anyway.

I painted it some funky colors 'cause i wanted to let myself know that it's okay to have fun with it.

Boyfriend looked at it and said, "You look a lot better than that..."   =-)

I thought that was *HILARIOUS*!

I told him it doesn't matter.

What matters is that i *did* it!  =-)

I hope you have a MARVELOUS weekend!

See you Monday!

=-)

Thirteenth Painting

I've been taking an on-line painting course called BIG (with Connie), and this is your "daily update".  =-)

This is Tuesday morning's "Painting", but in all fairness it isn't really "A Painting".    =-)

Again, it's in my Notebook.

I didn't have much time with this one, so i simply used my Watercolor Crayons and "played around" on the pages.

I told you i love Blues!  =-)

Simple enough.

Like i said, i didn't have much time that morning...

But i have something good coming up soon.

Not tomorrow, but soon.

Tomorrow's post is "just okay".

But remember, it's NOT about the Painting, but about the Process!  =-)

See you tomorrow!

=-)