CAPTAIN'S (B)LOG ~ SEA OF GLASS

REVEAL! Bead Soup Blog… PartyOn!

admin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:01:00 +0000

I had a wonderful time with my first bead soup exchange! I humbly admit it was a challenge for me using components out of my level of confidence. Just call me “Simple Simon”…I can do elaborate in glass, but not for complex jewelry design.

A reminder of my ingredients from Kitty

As I placed the first bead cap on a bead (my usual way below the bead), it suddenly occurred to me that fall is almost here and our massive oak reminded me also:

Acorns!

I decided to feature Kitty’s resin pendant by surrounding it with acorns, and even had enough to make earrings, accented with
Kitty’s handmade tags.

Notice the lovely detail on the clasp.

The Full View

Such a big pot of soup had enough for 2!

Zoom

And even a 3rd set!

Handmade Pendant

As you’ve seen, the soup ingredients yielded 3 full recipes!
Here’s the leftovers:

And they WILL get consumed!

At any rate, I am absolutely delighted with ALL of the results! I just hope my partner, Kitty, agrees and I’d like to thank her again for sending such a delicious soup!

Go here to view the reveal of the soup I sent to

My partner, Kitty,

Have fun at the Party!

PARNTER LIST AND BLOG LINKS

Check it out! The participants are from ALL over the globe.

Click the map to view full screen.

(Map courtesy of our hostess, Lori Anderson)

Uh-oh…

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:34:00 +0000

…what am I getting myself into…

You may remember that I have several previous blog posts about quilts and quilting. In one of them I mentioned how I’ve wanted to learn the craft some day. Well…

THAT DAY IS HERE!

And — I’ve started a NEW separate blog:

THE QUILTING POST

to keep my hobbies distinct and to keep up with the quilt progress over there, so please visit often!

I’d love for you to follow me there!

(click the machine to go!)

The Reveal….Soon!

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:39:00 +0000

The Bead Soup Blog Party will be culminating this weekend! By this Saturday, September 17th, everyone will have their amazing handiwork for show and tell, and will be blog hopping, enjoying a reveal of all the beautiful creations for days to come. Over 360 participants!!!

I’d better finish up my project & get to snapping photos!

Meanwhile, here’s another photo of the soup ingredients I’m working on:

Thanks to my partner – Kitty! ‘S gonna be fab!

In Remembrance

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 06:07:00 +0000

In remembrance.

Post Irene and Other Weather

admin — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:09:00 +0000

Previous post, I told you I would make hurricane beads, and I did manage to make some.

Front and back
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Photos following are from around my county).

Within the course of a week, our area has experienced:

A waterspout

(actual waterspout at the beach here)

which resulted in a tornado,

(no damage)

a few days later, an earthquake,

felt here and throughout the east coast

(again no damage here)

and yesterday a hurricane.

Is there a message in this?

Is Someone trying to get our attention?

Fortunately, none of these have been severe,
only minor damage…

…some flooding

…and the inconvenience of power outage for
over 280,000 homes in eastern NC; 50,000+ in my area.

We were fortunate, as our lights only flickered a few times, but never went out. Also, we experienced no damage ~
I expected a huge dead pine to topple ~
the wind sounded fierce!

Here are the before and after pics of my yard.

It’s nothing really ~ I wouldn’t bother showing, except that I promised to.

Even now, the Mr. is up on the roof blowing off debris, where most of it lands.

We are so thankful for the safety of ourselves, our family and our friends. My heart goes out to those who experience losses. Stay safe, my northern friends.

A couple more beads I made during Irene.

Goodnight Irene

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:12:00 +0000

See the little black dot on the right coast, at the bottom of North Carolina? That’s where I live.

Winds are beginning to get strong here (5 p.m).

Some beadmakers call these TORNATO beads or VERTEBRAE beads, but around these parts, mine are known as HURRICANE beads. I thought this would be an appropriate time to share one with you.

I plan to make more this weekend during Irene, provided we don’t lose power. That’s the only drawback I can think of in using an oxygen concentrator, compared to bottled oxy…no power needed for tanked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well now, let’s see if we’re ready. Here’s the checklist:

Stored drinking water?
(we’re on a well, so no power = no water)

Alternative light source?

Water for flushing?

And plenty more of that…we have full rain barrels out back.

Pets inside?

Hey!…those aren’t mine!

Ah, here she is

My MissyCat. And at this moment, she is lying right beside me on the sofa arm. Her back legs are cramping my typing.

Finally ~ and most importantly ~

Snacks!!!

The Mr. and I spent the early part of the day removing things from the yard and porch. Picked up the few sticks in the yard, mowed, and weeded front flower bed.

I made before photos for comparison…
that’ll be tomorrow’s post.

Preparation is important!

Sleep well!

My Bead Soup Arrived!

admin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:46:00 +0000

I received my bead soup from my partner, Kitty!!!

Oh, the thrill of opening each little item! But before I show you, Kitty had posted a really cool bead soup teaser pic, to keep us guessing:

The color scheme is one of my favs!

I opened the package to find a lovely card…French, of course!

Then, I found these two little bags…aren’t they just adorable?!

And stuffed full!

And each bag had it’s own handmade tag

In the first bag was a special gift to me!

This is Kitty’s metal work and I LOVE IT!!!

How did she know I was passionate?!

Inside the second bag…

THE SOUP!

Just looky at this generous helping of soup!

I’ve had fun arranging different designs already…this will be a fun challenge for me.

The metal tags and resin bezel were also made by Kitty…

I can see I’m going to be a regular fan of hers

My soup is chock full of delightful goodies! Mercy!

Oh….I mean,

merci beadsoup!

Soup, Soup, Who’s in the Soup?

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:16:00 +0000

Does the blog post title take you back a few years? I haven’t thought about my favorite childhood game since heck was a pup! But tonight, the phrase just crept forward from the ancient archives of my memory.

My sister and I, cousins, and neighborhood kids used to stay outside til after dark playing this “interactive” game (to use 21st century verbiage). The children formed a circle around one blindfolded person who stood with outstretched pointing finger while slowly twirling and reciting the game’s mantra in monotone (spooky-ish) tone:

“Soup, soup, who’s in the soup?”

Whomever the pointed finger landed on when the question ended, had to reply what kind of soup they were, but with a disguised voice: “TOMATO SOUP!” (deep, husky voice). If the blindfolded guessed who spoke, they gave chase and if “tomato soup” was caught, they had to return to the middle of the circle and be “it”. Such were the days of my youth, ah……

In my last post, I sorta blindfolded YOU and asked:

Soup, soup, who’s in the soup?

Can you guess?

Ok, let’s take off the steamy lid, so we’re able to get a peek…

I think we could call it “Seashell Macaroni”! LOL.

This is the bead soup I sent to my partner, Kitty at Perles and Life; I do hope she likes the ingredients I sent.

And tomorrow, we shall find out “Who’s in the Soup” that Kitty sent to me! I can’t wait to show you! Off to shoot photos…

Quilt Blocks in Glass

admin — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 03:19:00 +0000

You might have noticed my business name subtitle:

And it’s true ~ inspiration for bead designs is all around ~ and usually all I need to do is look at creation, but sometimes I still get in a creative slump. Other ideas for inspiration can be found in the color scheme and patterns that others create…like fabrics designers and quilters…some of them just beg to be interpreted in glass!

My friend Freda makes quilts for her family and has a delightful Blog about quilting. The above quilt she made for one of her 5 grandchildren, and each one has his/her own fabulous quilt, made with the love only a grandmother has.

As I studied the beauty of each of these quilts on her blog, I thought about making something special for her, so that she could remember them often. Why not try doing some quilt block interpretation in glass?

I was ready to take up the challenge! Beautiful fabric blocks, colors and patterns, reduced to miniature in another medium, glass! I browsed my work- bench for twisted cane, frit, and single colored rods to begin the project.

The H block quilt represents a child’s initial ~ clever!

Check these gorgeous greens and purples!

My interpretation of each grandbaby quilt:

Freda’s quilt block bracelet,
which she received on her birthday this month!

What do you think?

Good enough for the Empress of the Universe ?

Bead Soup Teaser

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:20:00 +0000

I have prepared my Bead Soup ~

stirred and simmered it with love ~

and even turned up the heat a good bit!!!

Now it’s ready for shipping!

I think my partner, Kitty at Perles and Life will be surprised and pleased.

For my readers who might be unfamiliar with Bead Soup Party, the contents for the partner should be a surprise, i.e., no photos of the soup prior to the receipt of it.

But I’ll give you a hint…

Wanna see?

Come back for the reveal!