In awe yet again

UPDATE:  Debbie just opened an etsy shop!  Hooray.  You should check it out:
Beautiful Things by Debbie Rasmussen


Debbie Remussen, my partner for BSBP6, is a truly remarkable women.  

She's a gifted bead embroiderer,  

 a photographer,

 painter,

Zentangler (is that a word?),

 

wood carver,

as well as a devoted mother, a caring sister, a loving wife, and probably much more.  I only met her today, but I am already astounded by the beauty she's added to this world.  Please take the time to visit her blog, A little of this, a little of that, to enjoy her creations and maybe even leave a comment to cheer her on as she overcomes the obstacles to open her Etsy shop. I am now a follower of her blog because I look forward to seeing the next gorgeous thing she shares with us. 

Japanese Nail Art

found here

Since I moved here I knew I had to enjoy the affordability of the amazing Japanese nail art. I'm a gardener so fingernails would be a waste of money-so pedicures it is.  Plus with year round sandal weather it saves me some of the constant maintenance.  I've had koi swimming on my toes, black spiders for Halloween, butterflies, dragonflies and now my favorite design to date.

Ok please know that I do not like feet, and I really don't like pedicure photos so I'm sorry to those who read this that are like me.  These were not only cute, but the only thing I've done for me since my last post.  Please feel free to picture me wobbling and almost falling over trying to take an acceptable picture.  That was almost as frustrating as trying to find something to write about today.

Yep it's Totoro!

 For those of you who don't know My Neighbor Totoro is a great family movie.  My nails were cut too short to add the cat bus which is the family's favorite character.

found here

Oh and for those of you who are wondering how those Japanese girls with the crazy nail art perform regular activities I can't tell you how, but they do without missing a step.  They work in offices, shops, restaurants, and even give pedicures with 15 colors and crazy attachments on their nails.  It seems second nature. I even saw a lady with bare nails stretch her fingers up to pick up something only to adjust when she realized her lack of added finger length.

found in google search

Hope you're enjoying your summer.  Watch out for mermaids! ((giggling))

Curious Design Challenge

Okey-dokie! Today's the day I show you all my Alice in Wonderland inspired pieces. 

Thanks to the lovely Staci we're having a curious little blog hop today.  This was the most inspired I've been in a while.  I have pages and pages of ideas & I'm even rereading the book with my son.  My only problem is this is the busiest time of the year for me, and  I've added 2 more volunteer positions to my schedule.  Ahhh!  So here's what I've done.  Sorry they aren't all finished, but we've been given the chance to enjoy a little family getaway this weekend and I can't pass that up to sit at my work bench.

This is a polymer clay caterpillar which looks a little gonzo inspired-what a happy accident. I used clear, blue and yellow crystals with accents of pale pink size 11 seed beads and size 15 seeds in sky blue.  There is a cute rose clasp too. Sadly though it does not talk or sing.

I designed the thing, but yet I'm wearing it backwards. What!?!

I'm not sure yet what this is going to be, but I love it! It's a Tim Holtz keyhole I got from the fabulous B'sue. The chain came from a local fabric shop, and the bunny is from the great kit Andrew Thorton worked with Lima Beads to create. I just didn't receive it in time to participate in that hop.

When I made the caterpillar I made a collection of blue & white swirl beads.  Here's what I still have waiting on me.  See the giant tear drop?

Well that inspired another piece, but polymer clay wasn't going to give me the desired effect. So I contacted Raida of Havana Beads to make me some giant tears.

I love them so much!

Here's how that one is coming along. It will eventually have all the tears on it, but we're leaving in 1 hour and I've packed NOTHING at this point.

The pendant is a microscope slide cut in half.  The door images are from a postcard I received recently. Then I used my new soldering skills to make my own pendant. It's rough, but I like it.  Oh and the key was brass which didn't fit with everything else so I brushed it with crimson metal paint.

As soon as I get back I'm going to visit all these blogs to check out their pieces inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You should check them out too.

Ginger Bishop

www.lilmummylikes.blogspot.com

YOU ARE HERE!

Staci Louise Originals

www.stacilouise.blogspot.com
Our lovely hostess

Genea Beads

www.geneabeads.blogspot.com
Our co-hostess

Jenny Davies-Reazor

www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Heidi Post

www.expostfactojewelry.blogspot.com

Donna Bradley

www.strandedbeads.blogspot.com

Linda Hanes

www.craftygallindadesigns.blogspot.com

Birgitta Lejonklou

www.lejonklou.blogspot.com

Libellula Jewelry & Cicada Silver

www.libellulajewelry.com

Linda Florian

www.lilysofthevalleyjewelry.blogspot.com

Dyanne Cantrell

www.deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com

Nicole Valentine Rimmel

www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Jo in Wonderland

www.joyblonde.blogspot.it

Fresh Baked Designs

http://freshbakeddesigns.wordpress.com/

Thanks Staci & Genea for bringing us all together! It was a great challenge.

Memorial Day-Thank You

As the day ends here many of you are still enjoying your day off work.  I hope you have a wonderful time today, but don't forget to take a moment to remember what's been sacrificed to protect the warm, secure feeling we enjoy on days like today.  There are some of us who are often reminded how truly blessed we are.  Be thankful if you have someone to say good night to.  Generation after generation men (and now women) protect us and sadly sacrificed too much.  Today we remember and honor that sacrifice. 

Curious Inspiration & Frustration

Ok, my blog is so new I've never used the "old"interface before, but since I have only the "white screen of death" for days on the "new" interface I've given this a try.

All I wanted to do was show you my Alice in Wonderland miniatures in the hopes that I can pull myself out of this quagmire.  I've hit a road block with my challenge piece so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) this might help. 

the box

Time for tea?

flamingo head at table base-love it!

white chocolate Hatter

pocket watch serving tray

bread-and-butterfly on the frame plus chocolates inside the tiny door

Where's the key now?

tray features the hedgehog
(you'll remember him as the crochet ball)

Alright, thanks to technically difficulties this was the most difficult and time consuming post to date.  But boy isn't it cute.  I know we don't always take the time to comment when we read others blogs, but please make time if you can.  I've been in the land of children and chores and would be so happy to hear from a creative adult.

Pretties

So lots of great things have been in my mailbox recently.  Since I didn't immediately tear into these I actually have some pictures to show you.  The first batch is from one of Lori Anderson's fb swaps where I was paired with Stefanie Teufel from Cologne, Germany.  In addition to some much needed size 15 seed beads she also sent 3 fabulous postcards for our postcard collection (which is lining the walls now-thank you postcrossing), but only one is pictured. 

  

I was so excited to receive seed beads in a swap because they are my go-to item and because it was a first for me to find in a swap package.  Plus 2 fantastic rivolis!  Then I read the letter and find out the beads in the dish are vintage and from the 1940's.  My own little piece of not so ancient Europe.  What more could a seed beader ask for?  I sure can't think of anything. 

I must say Stefanie is an amazing lady who reminded me look for the proverbial silver lining.  When is the last time you made an effort to see the bright side of a difficult situation?  I can proudly say, TODAY!  Thanks Stefanie!

No matter how much I loved this package, seed beads aren't all that photogenic till you do something with them so will move on the to the mother-load.  

If you remember in the last post I showed you the goodies I gathered only to discover I accidentally  cleaned my work space.  Those went to Lisa Lowe from Hampton, VA. (I've been there!) Anyway, Lisa spoiled me rotten.  She hosted a CBC Supplies Swap.  Yep, I was paired with the hostess!  Pressure.  Oh yeah, but it worked out great.  I swear you never know what to expect from swaps, but no one could have anticipated all this.  I'm going to learn so many things trying out all these pretties.

click the picture to enlarge

big beads soup

love the rough tumbled detail

tiny beads soup & crystals

I've wanted some of these for a while now

color, color color!

These is also some pressed flowers, fibers, glass tiles, copper blanks w/rivets, but I'm sure you're visually overwhelmed so I'll leave you with one last image.  

 This is my latest experiment with seed beads, and I am impressed with myself this time.  This is the same dish used for the tiny bead soup & crystals above.  Yes, it's one huge beaded bead. Pattern by Diane Fitzgerald and found in The Art of Beaded Beads by Jean Campbell.

Yep, I am one lucky (spoiled) girl!

It's clean!

I just wanted to take a moment to say swaps have cured my clutter.  I was paired with a swap hostess recently, and so I thought I had to pull out all the stops.  So I went through absolutely everything I had, and sent a nice mess of stuff to play with. 

 I'll show you what I received in a future post, but when it was all boxed up I realized I had cleaned my work space in the process.  I've been feeling really crappy since then.  And yesterday my body just shut down.  I think I was only awake a total of 4 hours.  Now that I've had my 20 hour nap I'm back to my old self again.  So I wanted to show you my clean workspace before I mess it up again.

Oh yeah and I tried my hand at Soutache last week.  Boy that was fun.  I really like just making it up as I go.  And since I glued the ends where you can see them it's reversible.  I was told it looks like one of those hidden Mickey Mouse things, but my Disney expect didn't comment so I don't know for sure.  I like it either way.  It's over 3 inches though so it's huge for my standards.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.