Daisy Mandala

I wanted to share a bracelet pattern I did recently. This is a part of a mandala I created using daisys. It ended up looking a look like X'sand O's, or hugs and kisses. I plan on calling this one "hugs and kisses."

http://www.quiltingarts.com/

The picture I used for the pattern looks a lot like the final bracelet - I used Microsoft Paint program to flip and reverse a portion of the original image several times. I used only a portion of the picture to flip and copy, rather than the whole thing, to get a stronger graphic effect.

This is a good example of what you can do with "ho-hum" pictures you otherwise might not be able to create a pattern from.

There are a couple of great articles in the last two issues of Quilting Arts, that go into the process I used to create this image. I will have to go and look up the link and author.

The link to the magazine is here:

http://www.quiltingarts.com/

later note: the more I look at this, the more I see a creepy clown face. That was sooooo unintentional! - G.

I love loops and swirls

Here's a loops and swirls bracelet I did a while back. Hope you enjoy.

Bedford Art Academy update

I have been getting ready for the grand reopening of the gift shop at the Bedford Art Academy. November 1st if the date set. Recently the shop was closed to be painted, as well as refitted with new display fixtures and shelves.

That means I'm working on making some inventory. I hope to be posting several pieces over the next couple of weeks. The bracelet and earrings pictured here are unakite and peach crystals. I used fireline to hold it all together.

Last night's work

Just finished this pearl necklace last night. I had picked these pearls up a couple of years ago, as well as the clasp. It only occurred to me last night they would work together.

I think the clasp really makes the whole thing work. I got it from The Fire Goddess, at a bead show.

http://www.firegoddess.com/

The above link is to The Fire Goddess website. She has awesome beads, charms, and toggles. Her toggles are some of my favorite things. I was going to sell this piece, but I love it soooo much I might keep it for myself.

Here's a close up of the toggle.

sneak peak, part 2

I gave a sneak peak, a little over a week ago, of a mini quilt I am working on. Just wanted to give another sneak peak of the progress. This is a very small area of the project (not quite an inch wide). I'm mostly using fifteens, some of them with charlotte cuts.

Acorn post II

Finished!! I posted ages ago about a cool tutorial on Ressurection Fern's Blog (see link on right) on how to make a sweet pendant with an acorn and some crochet thread. Her tutorial takes you through the steps to make a little basket that allows you to wear the acorn.

I was excited by the notion of making one up as beaded. I ran right out and realized - "duh!" it's SUMMER! No fresh acorns. All the ones laying about had bites taken out of them. But! I endeavored to perservere and this week, finally, found an acorn cap lying on the ground that was perfect as a topper. Painted it with gold paint and "Voila!"

(The jump drive in the back ground is very petite, but should give you a notion of of relative size.)

Getting in the mood for fall!

We've had our first cool nights, and the kids are already excited about fall, and all that goes with it - cooler weather, new jackets, and of course - Halloween. For the kids (and admitedly me!) Halloween is a time to dress up, try out new identities in disguise, general spookiness, and CANDY galore!

Candy Corn -- love it or hate it; it's definitely part of the pop culture imagery of Halloween and fall.

Lizard pattern

here's the pattern I used for the previous post, showing my progress. The lizard is based on a quilt design I saw a couple of years ago.

Almost Done! ( Or, I just need some closure... )

This is what I was working on the last couple of days since I got back from Charleston. I was able to pick up some of the colours I needed. This is actually an older pattern I had done, early on. I tweaked the colours a bit and cleaned it, and really like the bracelet a lot. I will post the pattern in a separate post right after this, so it will load up in a large format.

OOPS! he's upside down! I will have to go back and flip the pic to get it right.

Native American Motif

I sketched this out, based on a clip art image. I like the colors. This one would also work up pretty interesting as a free form brick work piece.

Raccoon pattern

Here's a quick little amulet bag design of a raccoon. Someone asked about raccoon patterns a while back and I realized I hadn't done one yet. So here 'tis!

Never too early to get ready for Christmas

Here's an ornament band I designed earlier this year, as a request. I thought I would share. The band is to be worked up around a regular ornament ball. Netting and fringe help hold it on and complete it.

It would also make a good holiday bracelet.

Happy, Merry Christmas - early!

Enormous Writing Spider

There is an enormous writing spider living out back of the house right now and I decided that I had to do a pattern.

I will be the first to admit: spiders give me the heebie-jeebies. It was a bit of challenge to myself to get a good close up pic to use as a guide for the pattern.

The picture really wouldn't assimilate well, so I traced over the image by hand instead. Often, I find this is the best way to get a good pattern, with clean lines and bold colours.

simple, pretty flowers

This is just a simple design that makes me smile. I have always loved flowers. (Explains why so many turn up in my patterns!)

Wolf in Snow bracelet

Wolf in Snow bracelet was designed with my daighter Melinda in mind. She has loved wolves since she was very young. By cropping the ends of the bracelet off, close to the image, you can use this pattern to also create a mini amulet bag.

row of acorns bracelet

Here's a row of acorns to wrap around your wrist for fall.

cutsy angel bracelet

Here's a cute little bracelet, just for fun.

I haven't fallen off the planet yet...

I know it's been longer than usual since my last post. Quite honestly, I always get a bit overwhelmed every year, the first couple of weeks school starts. This year I only have one in public school and two who are being home schooled. Once I get back into the rhythm of things again, it will all even back out.

I have been busy. I have been working learning how to make digital mandalas. (Way cool site called Earth Mandalas - has a great tutorial! http://www.earthmandalas.com/ check out this site. I have been hooked on using all those photos I couldn't use for other stuff - like bead patterns.)

I also have been working on a mini quilt and embellishing it with bead embroidery. I'm about half way right now on having the thing finished - maybe a bit more than halfway. Here's a sneak peak:

I will hopefully add more tomorrow. Got to go to bed early tonight. Beady hugs! Ginger