Outback sunset

The weather during our trip to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia was not great and we finally got a few sunset pictures towards the end of the trip. I was inspired to use the gorgeous lampwork bead from Bellissimo Jewels which I bought at last year's Melbourne Bead Expo. The necklace is a spiral rope with flower embellishments. We did see a lot of wildflowers in the ranges.

Camoflage

On our recent holiday to the Flinders Ranges we saw many groups of Kangaroos and Emus in the wild. They are not always easy to see and have a bad habit of suddenly appearing on the road side and jumping out in front of the car if you are not concentrating. This picture shows two kangaroos feeding in the bush with the ranges in the background. They were fairly unconcerned at us staring at them and taking photos. There was also a faint rainbow in the distance.


The emus were often easier to see and were in much larger groups. Some had chicks at their feet. Watching an emu kneel down to wash and drink at a waterhole is an amazing sight.

The inspiration for this freeform peyote bracelet came from the beads supplied by Leah Kelly of Beads of Ambrosia, for her "What would I do with these?" Bead challenge. Whenever I enter Bead Challenges like this, the first time I see the beads there is usually a totally blank moment - OMG What WILL I do with these??? Then over a couple of days of staring at the bead pack, a vision slowly starts to appear.

Freeform is such a delightful way to use the beads as there is such a lot of freedom to chop and change. Thanks Leah, I enjoyed this one.

Regatta Bracelet with a difference.

This version of the Regatta Bracelet was made for my friend Jane. She very kindly allowed us to park our campervan at her place whilst we were attending the 50th Anniversary of the Sandringham Yacht Club/Metung Yacht Club Junior sailors' Easter Regatta.
Some fourteen years ago, our sons sailed together in an International Cadet called "Fast Charlie". The bracelet shows "Fast Charlie" with its red and white mainsail and pink/grey spinnaker. She seemed to like her bracelet and wore it during the regatta.

Regatta Bracelet

It's been quite a while since I blogged and maybe you have all dropped off from looking at it. Just had to share the news that my Regatta Bracelet has been featured on the cover of the Australian Beading Magazine this issue - it also contains project information.

A very busy weekend

Another weekend has gone past without any beading, although I was on a bead related task. For some time, the Core Committee of the BSV has been trying to put together a Procedure Manual to conserve the knowledge of the current management team. Since we hold a couple of large events each year - The Melbourne Bead Expo and the January BSV member only Bead Retreat, it is important for us not to lose the expertise needed to get these events underway. There is also the publication of the Connect newsletter, a full colour 28 page glossy magazine, which needs procedural documentation. It has been a big task, but over the weekend we seem to have managed to make headway on this. As well we had a "bonding" weekend with the rest of the Group.

Brain Drain

Over the past few months as editor of Connect magazine, I have found that it takes me a little while to reactivate my creative spirit. Putting the magazine together takes quite a lot of time and once it is done, there is a great feeling of relief. Then I try to get back to my beading, but sometimes it is all just too hard.

First I spend time checking out other people's blogs on my computer, catching up with facebook friends and other procrastination exercises. Then I try checking out the new issues of Australian Beading, Bead and Button and BeadWork magazines.

I think this might be almost overstimulation! I download all the "extras" mentioned in the magazine and mull over whether I have the beads in my stash to make one of the projects. Usually, there is something missing. I did manage to complete a bracelet from the April issue of Bead and Button - the Honeycomb bracelet by Cynthia Rutledge. Not from the stash though! Had to purchase a whole kit (plus another one, of course) from Beads by Blanche. See previous blog. I have started the second one, but didn't get very far.


Then a customer asked for a particular colour neckwarmer on my madeit site and never one to miss a sale, I jumped in and crocheted one from my stash of yarn. Then I didn't know whether to concentrate on crochet, or go back to beading.

Now my friend Karen has looped me off in a whole different direction. She sent me an excerpt from a blog on polymer clay adventures in Nepal, which you can read at A Colourful Journey but which then fired me off in the direction of some amazing polymer clay artists. One in particular caught my eye, Helen Breil Designs. There are some amazing tutorials on her site. Just checking my paypal account to see if there is any to spare there. Problem is, I would also need to buy stamps and inks as well as more clay!

Will I ever get back to beading again?