See me on the web!

Here's another project of mine on the web! Look for the Contented Bicone Crystal Assortment in the Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements line from EK Success. Included are the directions for this necklace.

Learning about myself...

I was not particularly calm when I started tonight's Zentangle, but I wanted to do one, because I have missed a few days again, and I wanted to make progress toward my goal, so I did one. I forgot about not making mistakes, and tried to go over lines and fix things that I perceived as mistakes. That was my mistake. The finished tangle isn't nearly as good as it could have been. If I had just let the "mistakes" alone, they would have been swallowed up in the larger pattern. By trying to fix them, I feel like I've called attention to them and screamed, "Look here! I messed up!"  Maybe that's a lesson to me - don't overanalyze and try to fix problems that don't exist.

Day 5

Well, I'm missing days 2-4 on earrings, and days 2 & 3 on Zentangles, but I got these earrings done for today in the Earrings Every Day challenge, so I feel pretty good (the fact that the antibiotic is actually working on the strep doesn't hurt, either.)

I hate Murphy!

and his little Law, too. I was feeling a little rocky on the ride home Sunday, but I stayed up, got lesson plans for Monday and my first earrings and Zentangle done for the challenges, and went to bed feeling pretty prepared (see previous post). I survived Monday, but came home that night and crashed, cursing the upper respiratory infection my family had passed onto me. Come Tuesday, I made it until about 10:30, at which point I called my husband to come get me and the school counselor to take over my class until the substitute arrived, as I felt passing out in the library was not in anyone's best interest. So I spent the rest of the day and night and most of today in bed. I don't just have an URI, I have strep!!! So at least one more day at home, assuming this is not a resistant strain and I don't need more antibiotics, and I still don't feel up to jewelry making, putting me at least 3 and probably 4 days behind on the Earrings Every Day challenge, and I haven't been able to do my Strathmore workshop at all, and I'm behind on the pieces I want to make for other competitions. But rather than just throwing in the towel, I'm going to not try to catch up but just to jump in from here and keep going. That is the best I can do, and something is superior to nothing. Now I just have to stay awake long enough to do something.

Challenge a Day!

I'm participating in the Earrings Every Day challenge, sponsored by Beading Daily, this month. I'm also challenging myself to make a Zentangle every day, just because I want to. I won't post pictures of every one to this blog, but I'll be putting up the best of the lot. Today's Zentangle will go up later, since I don't have it's picture taken yet, but the earrings may or may not make it - they're Judy Belcher snowflake beads on base silver ball headpins with another small base silver bead at the top. Nothing fancy, but I made them today and they count!

It's hot!

It is so hot in our house that I can't get any crafting done! Here is a picture of a nice, cool, ATC. Hopefully it will make you feel cooler - at least for a minute or two. I used watercolors for the background blue, then stamped snowflakes in silver and topped it off with Jolee's Jewels stickers. Uh oh - someone just woke up from her nap and doesn't like being hot either!

ATCs

I love ATCs (Artist Trading Cards - my husband gives me a hard time and insists on thinking the acronym means Air Traffic Controllers - silly)! Here is one appropriate for the beginning of summer vacation. The card is made from watercolor paper, the bottom is a strip of watercolor paper I punched with an EK Success border punch and watercolored, the sentiment is written in sepia Pigma Micron on a K & Company piece over a bit of vintage ribbon.