Brief look at my attempt at soup...

Just so you can compare.

 

I think I did OK with the colours but it's certainly not on a par with what Karen sent me.

I'm finding it a really fascinating journey. Hopping around to look at the bead soups other people have created and getting a brief glimpse into their lives, dreams and thoughts at the same time.

My better half is finding it very difficult to understand why I'm so rapt with BSBP - which surprises me little since he & I met through work.

His mind is still required to create within strict rules. And yet he is currently embarking upon a very similar journey.

Not bead related, a much more typical 'manly' themed project but it elicits the same excitement in him and he is engaging with new people and learning new skills.

Despite our projects seemingly being worlds apart we have daily show and tells with each other.

These things keep us young and alive and I hope our passions inspire our children to constantly look for the new and find pleasure in the smallest of things.

 

BSBP -The soup has arrived!

And what an absolutely fabulous soup sent by Karen of Over the Moon Design sent!

Here's the little box and bags, a look at the gorgeous colours of sari silk I get to play with:

Here's main course :

 

Close up of the bicone beads, I've never seen anything like these before:

 

Look at the colours in these, beautiful:

African jade:

Simply gorgeous Tibetan Agate Barrel beads:

And then she went and spoiled me and sent dessert too!

 

What a beautiful stash! I immediately knew what I wanted to do with the wooden tree, barrel beads and sari silk and I have got lots of ideas for the rest.

You can see that Karen's really thought about colour, shape, texture, size, weight and style. When I made my soup for Karen I spent a long time thinking about colour combinations and relative sizes, all other considerations didn't even enter my wee little mind. I think that really shows the difference between a true artist (Karen) and a wannabe (me).

Tomorrow I'll put up a piccie of the soup I sent Karen and you'll see what I mean. My efforts look so bland compared to Karen's!

This simple excercise of sending and receiving soup has been an eye opener for me. I think I will also put together and sending Karen a dessert using what I learnt from the soup she sent me. I'm off to have a troll around the other paticipating blogs to check out their soups. I'll pop up a list of my faves later in the week.

Tara for now xxx

 

Zonked Zaturday

After seemingly endless weeks of increasingly hot and humid days with no rain I am thoroughly worn out and would kill for a long, deep, bubbly bath <sighs with longing>.

Those small niggles associated with not being connected to mains water have become big pain-in-butts with no rain for so long. Selective loo-flushing, 30-second-once-a-week showers, 60km round trips to the launderette and no drinking water means I am truly living up to my Smelly Nelly moniker. And being a delicate skinned European import I sweat like a hairy docker in the sweltering Aussie heat.

Yes I am a big sweat-dripping bag of good old fashioned grumpy whinges. Truly a joy to be with at the moment!

I had a moment of "woohoo! I'm gorgeous" the other day though. Went to pick up eldest from school, and to keep cool (& save on washing) I've been wearing loose floaty skirts and umm, let's say saving my underwear for special. I Walked past some sparkies to some cheeky smiles and floated around the playground relishing the breeze on me bits n bobs.

I pick up my gorgeous son (affectionately known as Evil Monkey Boy) and on way past sparkies get an actual wolf-whistle. I remember those! All puffed up with "someone fancies me even though I am sweaty betty with coffee stains and hairy pits" until we get to the car. EMB pipes up, "Mum, I can see your bum". Oh yes, somewhere between home and school my skirt has developed a hand sized rip in the seam over my right buttock. My entire butt cheek is clearly on view, visions of how gorgeous I am come crashing down and burning red cheeks of embarrassment take over.

How many Mums and Bubs got a clear view of my big ol' butt cheek I wonder? Aaargh!

All these minor niggles and big embarrassments have left me utterly zonked out with zero urge to do anything. But when I came across this goal setting method on facebook this morning I thought "you know, I could probably do that without sweating anymore than I already do". So I am sharing this motivational piccie with all those of you struggling through this nasty little fire season too.

 

Keep safe, keep cool and find time to go a little nuts. xxx

 

For the love of Bangles

At the moment I'm rediscovering my love of bangles. In used to wear arms full of them, chunky, thin, fancy, plain, all the way up to my elbows. I loved the variety and I loved the feel of them clanging and rattling as I moved. I'd constantly be taking one off to play with it and examine it in detail.

With the coming of babies jewellery became impracticle. Always being yanked at or catching on something and always that worry that something small may get sucked of chewed off and do bubba some damage.

Now my bubbas are (mostly) out of the yanking and popping things in mouth stage I'm finding myself popping in a pair of earrings or whacking on a bracelet more often.

I treated myself to Iris Mishly's Extrudinary tutorials and youngest and I have been popping out extruded bangles with abandon. So fast, easy and pleasing with never ending variations. A fabulous way to use up cruddy coloured clay.

Here's a pair I finished off at this Saturday's clay play.

 

Bead Soup Teaser!

I've picked and packed the bead soup I'm sending to my BSBP partner Karen Mitchell of Over The Moon and here's a little teaser piccie for you.

Karen is a australian based bead maker and jewellery artist who specializes in mixed media techniques and I am very excited to be partnered with her! Bead soup off to the post office tomorrow.

 

Beautiful box for your favourite Valentine.

I'm off to the Whimsical Bead today for a much needed clay play and I plan on making pressies for some of my favourite people. To make them extra special I'm going to have a go at making these beautiful origami boxes Ellie Kneeland to pop them in. (Click on piccie to take you to the guide.)

 

Peacock Feather Necklace.

I'm a big fan of OTTBS (Operation Tackle That Bead Stash) , a super-friendly group of beaders and artisans, and this was goung to be my entry fro the January challenge, but forgot the blue!

Never-the-less I am extremely pleased with it so far. This peacocky looking creation came about when I was looking to create a neclace to match the Crystal Feather Earrings I made from a pattern from www.jayceepatterns.com (the most beautiful patterns on this site, well worth checking out). Not the best match for the earrings I know but I'm still chuffed.