Tilim The Traveling Bracelet

The traveling bracelet Tilim arrived in New Orleans bringing my long time friend and bead enabler Judith Giffin of Beadline Studios.

Friday we played with beads. We experimented with Twin beads and I showed Judith how to do CRAW. Cubic Right Angle. My new favorite stitch.

Saturday we drove to Baton Rouge to visit with Karen Barber Firnberg. It was an opportunity for Judith and Karen to meet in person. We shared stories and did a show and tell of beadwork.

Sunday we treated ourselves to cafe au lait and beignets at Morning Call. It was delicious! Powered sugar was every where!

Time went by way to fast. Monday morning the Traveling Bracelet left With Judith heading west. Tilim's travels started on the east coast and will end on the west coast. The goal is to travel all 50 states in between.

You can read more about the Adventures of the Traveling Bracelets on Sigs blog.
http://travelingbracelets.blogspot.com
For the next person that Tilim visits, I hope it brings peace and happiness. That is what it brought to me.

BLACKFRIDAY Sale

I am a little late getting my blog post up today. I haven't been out shopping this Black Friday. I have been a little under the weather.
For 30% off today Use Code: BLACKFRIDAY for everything in the shop.

I have had so much fun making these pinecones. The necklaces are for sale with credit to Barb Grainger for the pattern and her blessing to sell them. I made a few modifactions and adding my own finishing touches I have turned these pinecones into necklaces. They come shipped in a gift box. Perfect for gift giving.


Thank you for supporting Hand-made this Holiday season.

Beverly

Humblebeads Jewely

It's that time of the year. Christmas is already on display and commercials are playing on TV. Turn off the TV and avoid the shopping crowds. Shop hand-made. It's a tradition we started in our family.
Follow me.
I'll help you get started by showing you jewelry by my favorite designer Heather Powers. Heather creates designs inspired by the garden, woodlands and sea. Each unique creation is a celebration of nature's beauty. Shop this weekend and get free shipping with code HOMEFREE.
Let's get started!

These are on the top of my wish list. I am in love with these.
Pink and Green Petal Earrings.

Little House in the Woods.
Home is where the heart is. This necklace will steal your heart away.

Birch Bark Pendant
Inspired by the colors and textures of Gustav Klimt's birch painting

Autumn Leave
These earrings will dress you up though the Holidays and beyond.

Click on the banner to shop.
A gift from Humblebeads Designs is sure to delight a special friend or family member on your shopping list.

This review was brought to you by Heather's biggest fan. Her Mom.

Disclaimer: No monetary gifts or incentives were gained from this post.

Taking Drive

Last week we took a drive and what did I see.......

A flamingo.

A fish.....mailbox in front of a million dollar home.

And a yard with not so scary Halloween things.

See you later. I am spending the rest of day beading something for my sister.

The Things I See

I love taking pictures. I never miss a good shot with the camera on my 4S iPhone My two favorite apps are PhotoToaster and Aviary. I go between the two when editing photos. Each app has a different feature or filter that I like to combine. I usually post the photos to Instagram. A few end up on my Facebook page.

Clouds are one of my favorite subjects. Every night there is different view right outside my door. Here are a few of favorites.

If you would like to follow along on Instagram let me know and I will share my user name.

Have I told you today how much I love my iPhone? This blog post was made using the Blogger+ app on my iPhone. There is no excuse for not blogging everyday. Not when this magical little Apple device does it all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Talking to Siri

Today we took a road trip to Oak Alley Plantation for the 7th Annual Fall Arts and craft show. We called this our 2nd Annual adventure. Last night I looked up the address and typed it into maps on my iPhone. We got an early start so we could enjoy the show before the afternoon sun cooked us. I picked up Sally and Carol and we were on our way. I opened up maps on my iPhone and Siri took over telling us which way to go. That was my first mistake listening to Siri when I knew which way to go. We drove along turning left and right on roads we knew weren't familiar. We were enjoying the bayous and little towns along the way. We stopped and took a picture of a mighty oak covered in moss.

Notice the dirt road? That should have been my second clue!

My third clue. The trees growing over the road! This was not familiar territory but we kept driving. Trusting Siri knew where she was taking us.

All of sudden Siri stated you have reached your destination "Vacherie Street, Lockport, LA. Wait a minute Siri our final destination was suppose to be Oak Alkey Plantation in Vacherie, LA. I did not pay attention to AutoFill!

We pulled over to the side of the road and I had a little talk with Siri. Look missy you got the route all wrong. We wanted to go to Oak Alley Plantation. Siri's favorite thing to tell me is she did not understand. Would I like her to search the web? No honey I want a map with directions to Oak Alley Plantation. Thank you! Siri tells me; Beverly you don't have to thank me. I love talking to my iPhone.

We stopped at a gas station and asked a nice man filling up his cooler with beer to go fishing "where are we and how far away is the plantation?" I loved his cajun accent and way he looked at us like we needed a map. We drove 38 miles out of our way. We were close and followed his directions to our final destination. Look at the crowd!

Here are a few of my favorite things from the craft show.

It was a beautiful day spent with friends. Our drive home was short and uneventful. Siri and I are going to work on our communication skills.

I Caught The Moon

The weather has turned. The heat and humidity are no longer keeping us inside the house. You know what the means? Date night for the Hermans. After supper we headed towards Lake Pontchartrain to watch the sun set.

While we waited we watched the sailboats.

The Lighthouse on Lake Pontchatrain.
Rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.

I think we forgot we moved south. The sun doesn't set on the lake here. It still sets in the west. We jumped in the car and headed through rush hour traffic trying to catch the sunset.

We missed the sunset but, "I caught the moon".

iPhone-Cameras and Pictures

Two weeks ago we moved into the 21 century and upgraded our cell phones to 4S iPhones. Having an iPod 4th generation for 3 years the transition was easy for me. For my husband it was a whole new learning curve. He read the manual and user guide from beginning to end. I tried to show him short cuts and tips along the way. Let's just say I have more patients for teaching a new beader how to bead than I had for teaching him how to use his iPhone! Deep breathing paid off and we now sending iMessages and using facetime together.

Confessions:
I love taking picture and editing with photo apps.

I am an app junkie!

Sunsets and cloud pictures feed my soul and bring me joy

I love riding over the Huey Long bridge and taking pictures of the trains.

This blog post was made from my iPhone using Blogger+

Bead Table Wednesday

It's 11:32 pm. There is still time do Bead Table Wednesday.
Check who has what on their on bead table on Flickr.

Today I decided was the day I would learn Cubic Right Angle Weave. I've never gotten along with Right Angle Weave. I wondered why in the world I wanted to learn this technique. I could do RAW but never mastered it.

I watched a youtube video by Heather Collins. She made it looks so easy! I gave it a try. I used size 8 seed beads as suggested and I got it! After mastering the technique with 8's. I tried again with size 11 seed beads. I had it down. I could see all the possibilites this stitch has to offer.

If you would like to learn this technqiue I highly recommend this video.
Cubic Right Angle Weave with Heather Collins

You can find more of Heather Collins's patterns in her etsy shop Studio 183

Raku Bird Ceramic Pendant by MAKUstudio.

I made it with two minutes to spare.
Thanks for joining me for Bead Table Wednesday.

Putting Things Back

After two days of driving and 1032 miles from Mom's house to ours. We traveled the last 45 miles over the bridges and through the bayou's of Louisiana which I call the swamps.

The flood waters from hurricane Isaac were receding. The water was high and covered parts of the bayou that were green before the storm.

The Eagle's had a nest in this area.
It was gone. I hope they come back.

It did not take us long to unpack and clean out the refrigerator. That is when I noticed the dirt. It covered the window sill and we could feel a layer of dust around us. We cleaned the sills and went to the grocery store to get something for supper. We decided to brave Walmart the next day to replace the refrigeratored items. Everything had to go and everything has to be replaced.

We found a lot of empty shelves. Our neighbor said it was that way last week too. We could not find a bottle of yellow mustard or Miracle Whip of any kind.

Or spaghetti noodles. Nor was there Welches Grape Jelly or any other brand of grape jelly or jam.

I will go to another grocery store this week to find the things we need.

We lost power in our area when a transformer blew. The winds brought down this tree in the back of our parking lot. Our favorite restaurant The Blue Tomato was damaged. I hope they get back up and running soon. It is our favorite place to go on those nights I don't want to cook. The trees are half naked. It took a few trips around the block for my eyes to regiser what I was seeing. The winds sucked the moisture from the leaves. The leaves that are left look worn and tired.

I am so glad my husband listened to me and we left town for this storm. I told Heather she doesn't have to worry about me. I put the storm behind me.

There are beads to bead and bracelets to finish. Life goes on and it is a good day!

Heading Home

It's time to pack up the caravan and head back home. We're leaving in the morning. I could lead the life of a gypsy traveling the roads from one end of the country to the other. By the time we get home I might feel like I have done just that. It's 1032 miles. I've made this trip many times in the last 16 years. I don't need a map. I know the way home.

Encampment of Gypsies with Caravans, by Van Gogh [1888]

There are things to be done when I get home. A refrigerator to clean, doctor appointments to keep, bracelets to finish and directions to write.

I'll be back in a couple of days.

Please Turn on the Lights

We are still sitting a hotel room waiting for the lights to go on. It's been six days since we left home to evacuate from Hurricane Isaac.

The red lines on the map are areas that are without power. I have been reading stories online about Entergy with their trucks and crews sitting in parking lots not working. I in turn have to remember that the storm took days to pass over New Orleans. It's going to take time to restore power to a 395,000 people. On the map I can see that half of our street has power and the half we live on is out. I am praying more power is restored today.

Thinking about going home is easy. Getting there won't be. When it's time we can't take the same route home. The expressway by LaPlace and going over the swamps is under water. We have an alternative route. It will just take longer to get there.

We've learned from past storms going home to early will be hard. Gas and food supplies are low. It is spooky going shopping with bare shelves and the only things left are things people don't want to eat if they can help it.

I'll have a mess to clean up when we get home. I gave away the food in my freezer. Everything inside of the refrigerator will have be thrown away. No telling what is growing inside after 6 days with no electric. I had to poke that picture out of my mind's eye! My only saving grace is after Katrina I only buy enough food for a couple of days at a time.

We are good for a couple more days after that we have to head home with or without power. The funds aren't available to stay for more than a week.

Keep Louisiana in your prayers. It's a long road to recovery.

Hurricane Pattern Sale

It looks like a good time to have a sale.
Use code: hurricane
To receive 20% off of all patterns in my etsy shop.
A sale will keep me busy while we wait for the power to be restored.
I am very thankful that my home and my friends are safe after Hurricane Isaac. I am thankful I have my iPad with all my patterns in iBooks. We hope we can go home soon.

A sample of patterns available
Garden by the Sea
Queen of Paradise
Mayan Treasure Bracelet
Siren's Jewels

Thank you for stopping by.

Evacuating For Isaac.

This is what was like to driving out of New Orleans evacuating for Hurricane Isaac.
Sitting on the passenger side of the car.

Traffic is moving at snail pace on I-10. We have been on the road for 30 minutes and have moved less than 5 miles. My anxiety level is so high it makes my chest hurt.
Some Of the people we pass are laughing and having a good time. Life is a party for some leaving the city. Me in the other hand look like a bitch in the passenger seat.
6 horse in a trailer and an ambulance trying to get through 3 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic. Another ambulance is fast approaching. We are hoping there isn't an accident up ahead. It's taken 40 minutes to reach the 310 overpass.
For a minutes we were moving aright a long. One car broken down on the side of the road. We are almost over the spillways heading towards Baton Rouge. It is 6:50 pm.

Traffic just avoided a back duffle bag in the center lane.

Saw someone jogging on the side of road. He appeared to be running from the storm. Finally we saw birds flying and heard the bugs singing in the swamps.

2 more cars broke down on the side of the road.

Coffee at McD's and top off the gas tank. 23 miles to Baton Rouge.
Two cars full of rowdy kids headed into to the station. Two buses of evacuees. We are on our way.

I will take over driving soon. 8:00 o'clock and Art is done.

14 miles to Baton Rouge. We have entered the construction zone. 7:54 pm. Traffic is at a stand still.
It's night time. Darkness surrounds us.

There is no shelter of last resort in New Orleans. No Super Dome, no convention center and no airport. Not like with Katrina.

The wind is coming. They can feel it acrossing the river. Heard that on the radio.

We wonder if we are heading in the wrong direction. We continue heading west.

Price gouging in New Orleans. $5.00 for a bag of ice.
A police car has brought traffic to a stand still.

Mall of Louisania. We almost to the River bridge.

I could not imagine sitting in my apartment listening to wind howl at 100 miles an hour.

If we had followed the evacuation route and took 190. We would be in Texas now! I still can't see the Mississippi River bridge.

Another ambulance with lights and sirens. I can see the MRB. Stop.

My side is ready cramping.

The bridge! The bridge. We are crossing now.

We are on our way to Lafayette 30 miles to go. I will take over driving soon.

It's 11:15. We have stopped for the night in Duson, LA just on the other side Lafayette.

Tomorrow we head for Beaumont TX.
Thanks for listening.
Bev

Typed on my iPod

Hurricanes and Birthdays

I decided this year that Katrina wasn't going to be a guest at my birthday this year. She was arrived on my 50th birthday August 29th 2005. I wasn't going to spend this hurricane season worrying about storms. June and July were uneventful and so was August until this week.

Hurricane Isaac is now in the Gulf of Mexico moving over the warm gulf waters building strength. Landfall is expected sometime late Tuesday or Wednesday.
Exactly 7 years after Hurricane Katrina. A very unwelcome guest on this birthday.

I got up this morning knowing we were going to be making plans to evacuate.
We called and made hotel reservations in Texas. After watching the track of the storm I am hoping we are far enough west.

New Orleans is now under a Hurricane watch. Louisania declared a state of emergency to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

I spent the morning picking up my beads and clearing off my bead table. It sits directily under the window. I packed a box of beads to take with me.

I realized writing my morning pages how little I talked about Hurricane Katrina. We had already left town and were in Michigan watching the event unfold on TV. We arrived home 6 weeks later to unimaginable devastation. It forever changed my life and how I do things.

I am ready. Things are packed and put away. Now we wait. The storm is 536 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi.

Naming your Bead Art

How do you turn your bead work into a piece of Bead Art?
I believe the finishing touches and surface embellishments are the secret.
A beaded band using your favorite stitch shows you have mastered the technique. When you dress up the outside rows with a finishing touch it changes the look of the beadwork. Add surface embellishments to complete the design and it turns into art.

I picked up the triangle beads at the Bead & Button show from Out on a Whim beads. I love the color. It is called Lizard Skin. As I was checking out I looked at the beads in my tray. I picked up those two tubes and asked "Do I need these"? What kind of question is that? You don't ask. You just buy them!

As for a name, I had a hard time choosing.
I got so many great suggestions on Facebook.
I learned a lot about Tudor Roses and the Bronze Age.
The one I like best is "Garden Gate" suggested by Andrew Thorton.
Thank you Andrew!

The Artist Way For Beaders

How do you do to nourish your creativity?
What inspires you?

What do you do when your creativeness steps away?

I joined "The Artist Way for Beaders" on FaceBook.
Jennifer Chassalow VanBenschoten started the group.
We are going to explore Julia Cameron's book "The Artist Way" and apply it to being a Bead Artist.

I downloaded the book on iBooks.
You can download the book from
Amazon here.

The tools we will be using are:
The morning pages.
Morning Beading.
The Artist Date.




I made a decision when I joined the group not be a lurker hiding in the background.
Armed with my iPad I was ready to begin.  I had plans! My iPad was going to be my tool.  I was going to use Pages on my iPad it to write my morning pages.  The first day that is just what I did.  I had a terrible time filling three pages with writing.  Silly me!

I started reading the first chapter.

I realize I needed a notebook and pen.  My thoughts needed to flow through my hand out of the pen onto the paper.  It wasn't going to work typing my thoughts.  It was to easy to delete a sentence or change a word or even the thought.  It was hard work formulating a thought into sentence using the keypad.  These words need to come from my heart and mind not from the tips of my fingers.

I am going to do more than write my morning pages.  I am going to blog more.  I am going to learn to share more of my thoughts and my life as a Bead Artist.

It's going to be a jounery.  One I am ready to start.  There is a lot to learn.

First Day of School

School starts early in the south. Today was the first day for many. I keep asking myself where did the summer go?

I made this bracelet for my friend who is beginning a new year teaching at a different school. Her birthday is also just a few days away.

It's been so long since I've done any stringing. It took me a long time to look through my beads and find just the right ones.

I couldn't wait to give it to her this afternoon after her first day of teaching.

Happy birthday Jan! I hope all your birthday wishes come true.

Every Bead Tells a Story

I started this lariat a year and a half go. It was the last time I drove to San Antonio to visit with Heather before they moved to Michigan. I miss sitting in her bead room and watching her make beads. When I saw these two beads sitting on her table a design came instantly to mind. I could see them as accents beads on a bead crochet lariat. Heather does that to you, she sparks creativity!

Do you remember where you were and who you were with when you bought your beads?

What memories do your beads hold? Mine are filled with memories of traveling. Good times spent beading with friends and family.

It is more than an Art Bead when I use it in a design. It's traveled across country or spent time on a tropical island and passed a good time.

Crocheted lariat - Humblebeads - Elaine Ray discs - Brass accents

Dress it up or dress it down. This lariat can go from a vacation on a tropical island to a night on the town.

Do you need to spark your creativity? Designs by Nature by Heather Powers will do the trick.

A Little This and A Little That

I've got a list. It is filled with things I've started and need to finish.

Bead - Do - List

Finish bracelet with triangle beads.
Lariat with Humblebeads.
Owl Necklace.
Blue Queen of Paradise
Crochet Mardis Gras Bracelet
Repeat Black earring

Things to create
Laborite cab necklace
Memory wire with peanut bracelet

Instead of checking something off the list. I strung beads and crocheted a necklace. I found the perfect accent beads at the AKS Gem show last week.

There is something about the heat and humidity that turn my attention span into that of nat!

Bead & Button 2012

My Mom and I drove to Milwaukee for the Bead & Button show. It was a nice drive. I always say a missed turn is just another opportunity for adventure. We had a good one when I missed my turn due to the construction. Thanks to Garmin and stopping to ask for directions we made it safe and sound to our hotel.

Heather my daughter the bead maker of Humblebeads had a booth at the show. I am so proud of her and her accomplishments. I got meet new friends and visit with old friends.

These were my show picks from the Bead Dreams competition. The blue piece on the top left would have been my pick for first place. I just loved it! The flowers on the bottom left was my Mom's favorite.

I stopped at my favorite booths and shopped with Out on a Whim and Beyond Beadery. Lisa Peters Art was next on my list for cabochons. I didn't by a lot but what I did get was enough to inspire me. I am ready to get back to beading!

For the next 10 days I am going to enjoy my family and the cooler weather.
Thanks for stopping by!

I Couldn't be Happier!

The first 8 days of my vacation have sped by.
I made beads, pulled weeds and celebrated the holiday weekend with my family.

My girls make me laugh and my heart sings with joy when we are together.

My son Ray looks so serious. Don't let that fool you. He is quite the jokester too! I love the stories he tells me.

Friday I will be spending the day with my sister Rosanne. We have plans for Saturday with Heather to make beads. The Bead & Button show is fast approaching.

Mom and I will be traveling to the Bead & Button show together. I love road trips with my Mom. We always have a good time.

I've been driving everyone nuts with my picture taking. That's alright because I need those Kodak moments to take home with me.