Hana-Ami

 I made it to yet another night of A to Z blogging, and I also managed to get some beady show and tell done for tonight's post. So the letter is H and the word is "Hana-Ami". According to the Denshi Jisho (online Japanese Dictionary), the word hana means flower; blossom; bloom; petal and the word ami means pattern or stitch. 

In Japanese beadwork, triangle weave is used to create the motif called Hana-Ami. The motif is very simple and quick to stitch , so I decided to whip up a  pair of earrings using light green fiber optic cats eye beads, Caribbean blue colored bicone crystals and some silver colored seed beads for a bit of bling.

If you would like the pattern for the Hana-Ami Motif, I found it on Deborah Roberti's website, Around the Beading Table. She also has lots of other great patterns based on the Hana-Ami motif.  Here is a link if you want to check it out.  http://www.aroundthebeadingtable.com/Tutorials/Hana-Ami.html .

TTYL and make it a good night,

Debbie

My First Give-Away

I am very excited to finally get to the letter "G" in the A to Z blogging challenge, because from the very beginning I had decided that if I did indeed make it all the way to G, I would hold my first ever give-away. I also knew from the beginning exactly what I would be giving away.

So last night, immediately after I clicked on the Publish Post button, I headed on over to Amazon to order the prize, which should be arriving early next week. So you have probably guessed that if coming from Amazon, it must be a book.  And now you are probably wondering which book I have chosen.  Well, the book I have chosen to give away is "Getting Started with Seed Beads" by Dustin Wedekind. Here is the link to Amazon for a look inside and some reader reviews.  http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Beads-Dustin-Wedekind/dp/1596689757/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333857254&sr=1-1#_

I have chosen this book due to the fact that when I speak of beadweaving or show pics of beadwoven jewelry, lots of non-beadweaving people will make comments stating that they would never be able to do work like that, or that they wish they could create stuff like that, or that they wouldn't even know how to begin something like that, etc, etc,etc. Well my answer to comments like that is, "Well, I beg to differ, but YES YOU CAN." :)  And for the accomplished bead weavers out there, you can never have to many beading books, right?

Anyhow, to enter the give-away, just leave a comment letting me know you would like to be entered. As with most give-aways earn extra entries by posting to Facebook, Twitter, your own blog or where ever you socialize and leave me the link in another comment. The contest closes at 12:00 am on April 30th and the winner will be chosen at random and announced later that day in my last post of this A to Z challenge. Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you are the lucky winner.

Ok, so there you have it, my first ever give-away brought to you by the letter G  and thanks to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge April 2012.

TTYL and make it a good night,

Debbie

Free-form Crafting

Hey there bloggy friends. Made it to another day of A to Z blogging and for "F" I have decided to blog about free-form crafting. Here are a few definitions of free-form via dictionary.com.

Characterized by free form: free-form sculpture.

Not organized or planned in a conventional way.

Encouraged to function or evolve without advance planning; spontaneous.

Without restrictions or preconceptions: The children were allowed to paint free-form

Mind-Boggling free-form crochet by the International Freeform Artists Guild

Amazing free-form knitted sweater by Jane Thornley

Beautiful free-form quilting by Shirley Barter

Drop Dead Gorgeous free-form beadwork by Ibolya Ingesne' Barkoczi

I am so envious of those blessed with the skill and courage to fearlessly create such beautiful free-form designs. I hope you enjoyed the pics. Gotta go exercise the right side of my brain now.  ;)

TTYL and make it a great night,

Debbie

A to Z Blogging. Letter E

So today, for the letter E, I am going to introduce you to one of my fave blogs.  The blog is called "Everyday Inspired" and can be found here:  http://additionsstyle.blogspot.com/ .  The blog's owner Valerie describes it as: A daily dialog of inspiration, creativity, business, and style. An opportunity to motivate each other on our personal journey of creative discoveries."

She always has something inspiring to show or tell and includes features such as Motivational Monday, DIY Friday, and Be Inspired.  I can't wait to read her new monthly series "Inspired Success Week", which will be starting April 16-20.

Along with great content, I also enjoy this blog for its pictures. She sure does have any eye for spotting all things beautiful, unique, creative, and sometimes even mind boggling.

Valerie has chosen the perfect name for her blog, as reading it daily leaves me feeling "Everyday Inspired".

TTYL and make it a great night,
Debbie

Day 4 A to Z challenge. Letter "D"

So it is now day 4 of the A to Z blogging challenge and I came across so many great "D" words that I had a hard time choosing which one to blog about today, so I decided to use them all.

Do you remember the Aesop fable "The Tortoise and the Hare"? If not here is a short summary.

One day the quick but boastful hare was loudly bragging about how fast he is. The Tortoise who was sick of hearing it all the time challenged him to a race. The race began and the hare was leading, so he decided to take a nap. While the hare was napping, the tortoise slowly plodded on, never giving up.  By the time the hare woke up, the tortoise was so close to the finish line that the hare didn't have a chance.  The slow but steady tortoise won the race.

What was the tortoise that the hare wasn't?
The tortoise was:
Daring
Dynamic
Devoted
Dedicated
Determined and
Disciplined

TTYL and make it a good night,
Debbie

A to Z blogging Days 3. Letter C

For day 3 of A to Z Blogging I decided to blog about an admirable woman who's name we all know. Just for fun I'll give you a few hints before naming her.  Both her first and last names start with the letter "C". She was born in France but is no longer with us. She became famous for her little black dresses, suits, costume jewelry and perfume.

Here are a some of her more famous quotes:
“Adornment, what a science! Beauty, what a weapon! Modesty, what elegance!”   
“A Girl should be two things: CLASSY AND FABULOUS!”   
“A woman should wear perfume wherever she wants to be kissed.”

So by now I am sure you have guessed who I am talking about.  Here is a short video-biography I found on biography.com which I thinks sums of this legendary woman quite nicely.







So there you have it, day 3, letter C and a woman I truly admire.
TTYL and make it a good night,
Debbie

Beadwoven Bracelets

O.k. So I made it to day 2 of A to Z blogging. Well actually, it's 12:03 a.m. on the 3rd day as I sit here typing. I guess I'm a bit late, but what is time but a number, anyhow?  Today's letter is B, so I decided to do a show and tell with my latest beadwoven bracelets.

The first one is a peyote woven cuff. The pattern came from Fusion beads and is free on their website. I couldn't decide on what colors to do all the flowers, so I settled on a simple, sophisticated palette with just a pop of playful purple . I plan on doing another one over the summer based on all the wonderful colors that are bound to be growing all around me very soon.

The second bracelet is done in double St. Petersburg Stitch and makes good use of one of the many vintage buttons I purchased a few years ago at the Brimfield Antique Show. For those of you who follow my blog and were wondering which stitch I was learning a few posts back, it was indeed the St. Petersburg stitch. Remember I hinted that it was also the name of a place? 

So there you have it - a B post for day two of the blogging challenge and my beady show and tell all in one quick post. May I please go to bed now?

TTYL and make it a good day, or should I say a good night? ;)

Debbie