A Lesson in Synchroniicity...

In 2010, I lost my job due to downsizing and budget cuts. For the most part, ever since, I have struggled and had to watch every penny, and where it goes. It's become one of those full time, mandatory things that need to be done,  with little room for error. 

Life for me,  seems to be a series of ups and downs and in between, and I feel like I am in one of those in between places, yet, hopeful, that I am finally back on my way upwards. 

2010 was also the year that I discovered what a passion I have for beads and bead weaving. This discovery has put me on a path that has led me to this place, thus far. 

A few weeks back, I joined a Face Book group called "The Artist's Way." The main focus of the group is to read a book called "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron; 1 chapter per week for a 12 week period.  In chapter three, there are a few  paragraphs allotted to Synchronicity and one of them reads; 

" In outsized lifes, such moments stand out in bas-relief, large as Mount Rushmore: Lewis and Clark headed west. Isak Dinesen took off for Africa. We all have our Africas, those dark and romantic notions that call to our deepest selves. When we answer that call, when we commit to it, we set in motion the principle that C. G. Jung dubbed synchronicity, loosely defined as a fortuitous inter meshing of events. Back in the sixties we called in Serendipity. Whatever you choose to call it, once you begin your creative recovery you may be startled to find it cropping up everywhere."

This past Saturday my darling daughter, who's about to have her 33rd birthday was here for a visit. She had some errands that needed running and we planned on taking my car and spending the entire day together. Problem was, my car needed gas and my girls (cats) needed a bag of dry food that costs $19.99 a whack! :) Gas in the car or food for the girls? Not a good choice to make and I didn't know how I was going to work that out, as I only had a 20 dollar bill. Fortunately, for me, I didn't have to.  "Synchronicity" worked it out for me!

As we were pulling out of the driveway to head to town, my daughter asked me which errand I wanted to run first. I responded with, "I need to go get gas in the car first."  She looked over at me, and said, "Just for today will you promise not to argue with me?" When do I ever argue with her...lol? Ok, perhaps more than I would like to admit, at least, to her! I said, " I can't promise that..." and with that response I was met with the eyes! The eyes that say, " Really Mom?" I gave her the eyes back that said, "Ok, what is this really ALL about?"  She replied, I want to fill your gas tank, run our errands and then take you out for a really nice dinner." She knows me very well and knew I would kick up a big fuss about taking her help, and I have to admit it was very difficult for me to accept her gracious offer because I know she is dealing with her own financial demons. In fact, one of the hardest things I have ever done. But in the end, when all was said and done, I acquiesced! I was thinking like 20 bucks,  but she insisted on filling my tank. I have a 15 gallon tank in my car and gas is over 4 bucks a gallon-- You do the math! I can't even remember the last time I had a full tank of gas. What I know for sure is that I was struggling with how I was going to manage to do both things.. gas in the car and food for the girls. I never expected to receive what I was given. Thanks to the gift of love and generosity from my beloved daughter(angel), I wasn't forced to make that choice. Was this a lesson in synchronicity for me? I definitely think it was, and I have to say, due to this incident, my scope of vision has increased immensely.

To ALL of you self-doubters out there who doubt the power of synchronicity..... Doubt no more! I no longer do! I leave you with this final thought:

"Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish."

                                                 OVID

Until next time.... Bead true to yourself!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend!

I recently posted a new tutorial in my Etsy Store: The Diamond Rio Tila Bracelet.  This bracelet would look good created in any colorway, however, I chose a very neutral color scheme for demonstration purposes. A brief description; A 14mm rivoli bezeled with Delica's encased with a tila bead and crystal frame and attached to square stitched bands that have embedded tila beads in diamond shapes in them.

The ends of the bands are embellished with herringbone faux cuffs. This tutorial incorporates several stitches; herringbone, peyote, right angle weave, square stitch and picots. One should be familiar with these stitches before attempting this tutorial. Skill Level: Intermediate. The tutorial includes several illustrations and step by step instructions. This tutorial is in PDF format and is listed in my Etsy store, Lady Abeada for $8.50. You may also purchase it here by using the paypal button located in this post.

Until next time..... Bead True to Yourself!                      

What I have been working on....

I have had this ceramic cabochon with this cool little question mark on it for about a year now. I bezel-ed it with a  metallic iris brown delica and for some reason wasn't really happy with how it looked-- So, I stuck it in my UFO box to come back to some other time and haven't thought about it again; until the other day.

This entire project turned into one big experiment for me. I knew that I wanted to do a CRAW rope but I didn't want it to be plain looking-- so I began playing with  different types, sizes and colors of beads. I experimented with 1.5 cubes and 3 different sizes of seed beads. The final combination had a graduated affect and made for interesting little intersections in the rope to catch the eye. 

From there I moved on to the cabochon. My original bezeling was plain looking and boring to me. What to do to make it interesting and get the ? mark to pop a bit? I used size 15's to do a picot that pointed inward and size 11 picasso cornflower on the outer edge. Much better and not so plain looking. Then I wanted to come up with a novel way to create the bail and attach the cabochon to the rope. I used a wooden bead and square stitched the bail around it and used other beads as buffers to attach each piece to the bail. I finished it off with a peyote loop and used another similar colored bead as a toggle. All in all I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and its one less project cluttering up my UFO box!

Until next time...Bead True to Yourself!

CRAW... an interesting stitch!

Greetings my beady friends! Has anyone melted in the summer heat yet? I thought we'd talk a little about cubic right angle weave today. It's an addicting stitch and quickly becoming one of my favorites. A while back I  created a brick stitch pendant with a CRAW rope to sell in my Etsy store and one of my customers saw it and requested me to make them a tutorial for the rope. Writing the text was a snap... however, not so much with the illustrations and graphics. :( Anyone that has worked with a graphics program and tried to create three dimensional illustrations can totally relate to what I am saying. Not an easy feat by any means. Anyhoooos...the thing I love about CRAW is that it can be used to create varying shapes and by changing up bead sizes and types you can really come up with some interesting combinations. Don't even get me started talking about the many different ways that one could embellish a rope.  CRAW is definitely a  stitch staple to know when it comes to bead architecture. If you haven't experimented with it yet, you definitely should put it on your to do list! Below is a photo of my CRAW rope tutorial.

If you are interested in the tutorial for the CRAW rope, the purchase price is $10.00 and you may purchase by clicking on the "Pay Now" button in this post. Thank you!

Until next time..... Bead True to Yourself!

A Beginning...

A writer I am not, but a blogger I will  become! It's taken a lifetime to discover that I am passionate about two things; Bead weaving and Polymer Clay. This blog is my creative outlet where I hope to share the things that I learn with you, my readers.  I hope that we enjoy the journey, have tons of fun, learn to play and whet our creative whistles as we venture down this artistic road. Until next time... "Bead True to Yourself!"