The Bead Spot

I still haven't had a chance to work on any crafts lately (hence the lack of posts) but I'm hopeful that will change soon. My work schedule has changed so that my daughter won't need to go to daycare at all most weeks. However, my husband and I are planning to take her for a few hours a week anyway so that she stays familiar with the other kids and staff there. On the occasions when she does need to go, we don't want her totally freaked out because enough time had passed since the last time she was there that she doesn't remember the place at all. On those days when she's at daycare and I'm home alone, I plan to get some work done. It won't be tons of time, and truth be told, I feel a little guilty about sending her to daycare while I'm sitting at home, but I look forward to being able to get a few projects done.

Because my schedule has been hectic, I haven't had a chance to work on any crafts lately (or to even blog about them), but I have a sneaking suspicion that completing projects may gradually get a little easier. Right now, working on anything when my toddler's around is tough because she gets curious about what I'm doing. She's been known to shake the tray table that holds my beads, sending those teeny tiny things all over my living room. I also have to spend the whole time guarding my tools so that she doesn't pick up my flush cutters or some other device that she could seriously injure herself with. Today, I put her in her high chair and gave her a piece of paper and some crayons, and for the first time, she created her own craft, even if it was just a white sheet of paper with a bunch of scribbles on it. I know she won't be beading, knitting or doing anything else that complicated anytime soon, but I think we're getting closer to the day wh...

My house is small but my ambitions can be big. My mom has three sewing machines and offered to give me one. It comes in a table, so it's not very portable, but I decided to get it. I don't know where I'll put it once we get it here, but I'm looking forward to getting it. I've sewn before, back in high school home ec (eons ago when it was called home ec) but I don't remember anything, not even how to thread the machine. I'll need some good books to refresh my memory.

My break took longer than I anticipated, but I finally have some time for blogging. Since my last post, I have gotten a new book, "Your Seed Bead Style: Accents, Embellishments and Adornments,"  and, like the other books I have by Bead & Button magazine, it is chockfull of idea-inspiring projects. It's not all new, though. A few use techniques I've seen other places, but overall, I think it's a pretty good addition to my bead references. My favorite uses jump rings as an edging. It's got me thinking about what other nonbead objects I could incorporate into my work.

These are the wooden beads I bought a few weeks ago at Dollar Tree.  When I got them, I had planned to make some more stretchy kids bracelets, but I've been having second thoughts lately. Because they're made of wood, I think they might look more cohesive with a natural cord versus the elastic string I had planned to use. Perhaps I'll try them both ways to see which works best.

After what seems like forever, I'm finally down to just putting the clasp on the blue herringbone bracelet I've been working on. With e verything that's been going on lately in my personal life , I haven't had much beading time. On Sunday, I had the chance to bead during my lunch break at work, but I decided to get some exercise instead. I walked a mile and a half, and it felt good. I need to find a way, though, to have time for beading and exercise.

I'm very close to finishing up my latest herringbone bracelet. It just needs a few final rows, and thankfully, it turns out I will have enough beads  after all. Yay! I'm a little up in the air about what I'd like to do next. I'd like to rework some of my children's bracelets since I found that most of them would be too small for girls about age 5 to 8, which is who I envision wearing them. Getting them redone before the next arts and crafts show I decide to set up with should be a priority, but that probably won't be until this May. I've been thumbing through my new book ,  "Traditional Indian Bead & Leather Crafts"  by  Monte Smith and Michelle Von Sickle, and I'd really like to try one of them. I have some leather that I bought several years ago, but I haven't done anything with it yet. Perhaps I can give a project or two a try.