I have finally gone back and posted some photos of work that I have done over the summer. The first bracelet is the Burn Notice bracelet, which was really a rip-off from a Me & Ro design. I took a class in metal clay and made the charms and then threaded the white leather through the holes. I am very pleased with it. I made four extra charms and a pendant that I haven't done anything with yet. But I have plans! Big plans!


The next bracelet is a macrame number I whipped up. The in-progress photo is first as it was staked out on the cool macrame board my mom gave me. And the second is the finished bracelet. This was from a pattern downloaded from BeadingDaily.com. I also made a similar bracelet in purple, but the photos didn't turn out. I need a new camera.





This next photo is a photo of the PMC3 that I used to make the bracelet in the first picture. Not thrilling, but interesting nonetheless. I believe this small package of silver was over $65. It is probably more now.



The last one is a photo of the light table my mom gave me. My dad had made it for my mom, who, in her career as a graphic arts photographer, would use one at work to cut negatives. When we were kids, we used to play on it, tracing stuff. This was a hotly wanted item at my house and my mom gave it to me! Thanks mom!



Fall begins tomorrow and I am gearing up for some fall projects. I have a bead loom bracelet I want to finish and I am going to make slipcovers for the couch. I was at Wal-Mart and I saw some really nice fabric for only $4.95 a yard. I hope they still have it. It was quite a while ago. Anyway, I want to recover the couch and the chair before the winter. All of these projects will be running concurrently with the kitchen remodel my husband and I started in August. The big stuff is out of the way and all we have to do is small trim stuff, replace the laminate counter top, and finish painting. Piece of cake! Yea, right.

I recently posted about getting back into beading and I wanted to share a couple of projects I am working on.


The first one, which is finished, is from Sherri Haab's book Beaded Macrame Jewelry. It is called the three-strand sampler bracelet. The directions called for Griffin silk to be used for the stringing, but I couldn't find any in any store in Toledo, so I opted for the C-Lon bead cord. It is not as drape-y, but I like it. I was
going to send away for the correct cord and different beads, but I think that I am going to just stick with what I have. It is finished and nice and I like it. That is all that matters, right?



The second bracelet is currently a work in progress. It is an adjustable knotted cuff designed by Dottie Hoeschen and I downloaded it off the Beading Daily website. I am not wild about the satin cord color. Nor am I wild about the beads. I bought both at a local bead shop and am not happy. I will probably stick with the cord color but buy some multicolored freshwater pearls from artbead.com or Fire Mountain Gems.


The third project is a knitted necklace which will have beads strung through it. It came as a kit and there doesn't seem to be a photo of the finished project, so I guess I will have to wing it.

Two other bead projects I am going to work on is another bracelet from the Haab book and an interpretation of the macrame bracelet I made last year. I am not sure how I am going to do this last one, it is going to be a make-it-up-as-you-go kind of adventure. Which are always the best kind.

And some sewing news: My mom and I went to Vogue Fabrics on Tuesday, July 29. We went to the store in Lansing, IL, a little south of Gary, IN. My review of the store is that it had a lot of really great fabric but not a lot of notions. I was really looking for a clapper for pressing. It is impossible to find one in the city of Toledo because all we have here are JoAnn's and Hancock Fabrics. There are no other fabric stores. I found one online but it was cost prohibitive. Besides that, the store was well stocked. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to get out on the road for a little road trip. Gas prices weren't even that bad on the turnpike. After we visited the store, we headed back and stopped for dinner in South Bend, IN. I had a lot of fun. My mom and I are going to go up to the Evanston store in the fall and make a weekend out of it.

I bought three pieces of fabric. One was a green knit with white flowers. I am going to make into a shirt.


The next was a windowpane plaid wool that I am going to make into a skirt.


The third was a snazzy rayon that is begging to be made into a dress.


So, I have been to all three Vogue Fabrics in the Chicago area and I have to recommend them all. But if you are going to make a weekend of it, then definitely visit the flagship store in Evanston.

I wrote last night that I was getting back into beading. When I originally saw the bracelet on the Burn Notice website, I saw that it was made out of leather and gold. As a member of Crafter's Choice, I have a book titled Metal Clay and Mixed Media Jewelry by Sherri Haab. It is extremely informative but since the price of gold is through the roof, cost prohibitive at the moment.

Cue my trip to Meant to Bead, a local bead store. I was looking through their books and saw Beaded Macrame Jewelry by none other than Sherri Haab. This woman is very talented. Her website address is www.sherrihaab.com and while the website isn't the shopping powerhouse you may want, there is information about the classes she teaches and limited items to buy.

So, I am beading again. I have decided that I am going to let my whims dictate what kind of crafting I do. I have been writing and haven't had a lot of time to devote to any kind of crafting and besides, I haven't felt particularly inspired. But that has changed for the moment and I am going to strike while the iron is hot.

I will keep you posted on my progress. I bought some C-Lon thread and will be making some projects from the macrame book while working on my Burn Notice inspired bracelet.

I have become interested in beading again. I watch Burn Notice and on the show's website you can buy clothes from the show. One of the characters, Fiona, was wearing the macrame bracelet I made last year! I am so ahead of the curve! There is another bracelet from the same designer that I would like to recreate. This got me interested in beading again. I was looking into metal clay but it is very expensive because of the price of gold. I am going to reinterpret it in a different medium. I will keep you posted on the progress.