Studio Time the 2nd

Maybe today the pictures will behave and go where I want them to.

I recently got Christi Friesen's latest book, Flourish.  It was a long wait, but well worth it.  It is chalked full of ideas and inspiration.  One of the techniques she wrote about was dissolving chalk in a glaze to achieve a faux ceramic look.  I tried it on simple beads, not too bad.  Next time I will add more chalk to the mixture as I had to put on 3 coats to get them this dark.  I want to explore this idea more.

I had a bit of left over transluscent clay I had tinted with ink.  I rolled the clay in glitter before baking.  

 One of the ideas I got from Pinterest (Love, love, love Pinterest)  is a Mokume Gane technique called Hidden Magic.  I gave it a try and, of course, had to incorporate the resulting veneer into beads.  I used yellow and green for my base colors, making several passes through the PM to smooth out the veneer.  I did learn that it is best to start out with a stamp that has a very tight design, since each PM pass thins it out more.  I like the result ... now just to figure out what to do with them.

 And of course, I had to spend time with the kitties. Most of them will be leaving for new homes soon and I will be missing them so much.  I have to love them when they are here. I hope Opuson and I have done a good job domesticating them ... there is not a one of them that does not come running and trying to scoot into the house the second the door is open.  Momma cat is even letting us pet her and seems to have lost a lot of her shyness around us.
 

Please let me in ... I am sooo cute and want to love you.

They are quickly outgrowing their basket, but don't
want to sleep anywhere else. We have set up other
places, but they like it here best.

Oh goodie, the human climbing post is back!

Studio Time

Finally, a weekend when I did not have to go anywhere or do anything .... I could dedicate myself to my clay and the BSBP.

This picture WILL NOT let me place it where I want
it to go.  

    I can't show you the Bead Soup for a while yet ... not till the last reveal, in April.  I am surprised at how quickly the design popped into my head.  Reading all those beading and stringing mags is paying off.

     I liked some of the beads I sent to my Bead Soup Partner Stepha so much, that I made a few more for myself, then tried a few different color combo's from the scraps of clay left over from other projects.

Green is in this Spring

Can't resist the color purple!

I would love to show more of the beads I made this weekend, but am having a problem with adding photos.  They all want to go to the top of the page, and refuse to move where I want them to go.  Rather than get even more frustrated with Blogger, I will just write another post later.

Bead Soup - Gathering the Ingredients

Life has finally slowed down for an hour or so, to give me a chance to write about the latest Bead Soup Party.
   My beads arrived this week from Stephanie Stamper Rainy Days Designs and my mind is percolating with  ideas.  I got oodles of beads, so I am definitely seeing more than one necklace, and several earring designs.

Black Cat says it is time to PART-EEE!!!!

For those who are allergic to cats, here is a more sedate pix (before Black Cat decided to play with the beads)

The focal shows up much better in this one

And now I can reveal what I sent to Stepha.  I had just gotten Christi Friesen's newest masterpiece (well worth the wait, I might add) FLOURISH and was inspired by all the leaf designs within. I made two focals, just in case the large one was a bit too much for my newest Partner. I got so carried away making the companion beads, that I continued making more using other scrap clay from my table.  Will show them at a later date.  I continued the leaf theme by being able to find a leaf shaped clasp.

All polymer except the small brown beads.
They are wooden.

And for those who are wondering, the kittens are doing well.  They are weaned, litter box trained and busy looking for good homes.  Four of them are spoken for, all going to people who will love them, hopefully for a long time.

Bead Soup Blog Party 2013

Lori Anderson has been hosting the Bead Soup Blog Party now for some years.  I really don't know how she does it.  She had the flu and a migraine during the sign up time, yet managed to match over 500 jewelry artists AND blog about it AND FB about it, AND email everyone about their partners.  I would be in bed not caring about anyone or anything in the world .... but Lori preservers.  She is one special lady.

I am happy to introduce you to my Bead Soup Partner - Stephanie (Stepha) Stamper.  She is a mother of 3 who (like a lot of us, myself included) buys beads to hoard.  Her blog is Rainy Day Designs where you can see pix of her lovely children in her latest posting.  (Her middle little has the BLUEST eyes - adorable).

I was inspired by Christi Friesen's latest book (Flourish) to create my Polymer beads for this Soup.  The big reveal day for us isn't till April 13, a long time to wait.  Till then, here is a teaser.

Green is the color for Spring.

Totally Catified

I am totally gaga over the kittens.  I know that I will not be able to keep them, but am totally enjoying them while they are here.
   Nermal has been such a good mother to the brood, which I am very grateful for as she looks to be very young herself.  She is really starting to trust us, which I hope will make it easier to get her spayed when this is over.  Still won't let us pick her up, but we are slowly gaining her confidence.
  The little ones are starting to explore their world.  Two are very brave and have started to come towards the door every time it opens.  Opuson says not to name them, as it will make it that much harder to part with them when the time comes, but I just can't help it. The really adventurous little boy I am calling Tofur and his almost as brave brother is Tiger.
   The other 4 tend to stay in their basket or the immediate area and one refuses to leave it at all (I think she is the only girl of the bunch - still not 100% on the sex of all of them as they are so hard to tell apart).  She is Mynee.  Eenie, Meenie and Moe have yet to id themselves.
    If you are tired of kitten pictures, just skip the rest of this post, as that is all there is for today.  Tomorrow I start working on my Bead Soup Blog Hop mix .... today I play with the kittens.

Tofur was already heading out as I snapped this one

Feeling a bit crowded here

Yep, I'm sure ... definitely crowded.  

Momma wanted to see what I was up to.  She how brave she is getting!

This is either Tiger or Tofur.

Little Mynee doesn't feel safe leaving the nest yet.

He DOES listen!

I got the greatest surprise yesterday.  I discovered that my hubbie really is the sweetest guy.  Sure, he puts on the act of being all bluster and macho, but he really does listen.
   I have been having a lot of minor health issues of late.  Carpel tunnel and shoulder/neck pain have really limited my time in the studio.  He noticed that instead of heading straight there after work, as was my usual "gotta destress from work by making something' habit, I was reading, or watching TV or just going to bed.
  He had heard me mention in the past that there were such things as Pasta machines that came with motors.  He researched and ordered me a Mona-sized Altas (180 even) for a birthday surprise.  I was soooo blown away.  I immediately set it up and went to work for the first time in a month.

I got the Controlled Marbling Tut from Lynda at Diva Designs and have been itching to try it out.  I did not have Pardo translucent or the other color she recommends for her base mixed, so I had to improvise.  Just used some scrape clay I had on my table.  This is my first practice piece and I have to admit I am not that happy with it.  I should not have made my two yellow streaks so close together. Live and learn.  I was able to find one brick of the color she uses all the time at Joannes, so maybe able to do the tut as written (except for the Pardo).

 So, I wondered what a bead made from these colors would look like. I cut the veneer in half and made two beads (one of which I promptly lost somewhere in my studio).  This bead I like, so am going to use the remainder of the veneer to make a few more.

It's that time of year again

Hurrah ... I am finally able to get back on line.  We had a bit of power interruption here at the Underfoot house.  Only half the outlets, lights, heaters, etc have been working since last Monday or so.  Took a while to find and get an electrician to the house. When he did get here, it was a 5 minute fix.  Seems a wall heat in the bathroom (that has not worked in years!!) finally decided it was going to cause problems all up and down the circuit.  Once it was disconnected, we had power again.  And I was finally able to get back on line.  I was not completely sans Internet - still had my Nook, but I was not able to blog using one finger at a time.
    It is that time of the year for Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Hop Sign up.  This is getting to be such a large event that she is only hosting ONE this year.  There will be 3 reveal dates to make it a bit easier.  The sign up is this weekend... if you are interested, sign up by Sunday night.
   I was a bit leery my first time, as I am primarily a bead maker, not designer.  But I have had so much fun and learned so much by participating, that I couldn't wait to sign up this year.  I encourage anyone who is on the fence to just jump into the pool and splash around.
   Just follow the link on this page and it will take you to the sign up.

And now for your moment of Kitten

Finally getting so I can start to tell them apart.