Two days in a row!

Now let us return to the cool, crisp days of autumn--and my October Bead Journal Project. I worked virtually every day on the bead-encrusted border, and completed that part somewhere around Oct 25th. The remaining fiber art part of the project is, however, as yet incomplete--still, I wanted to share the beading with you.


The Sabbat that falls in October is of course none other than Samhain (pronounced SOW-in)--or Halloween. Prior to starting this project, I had been looking through back issues Somerset Studio to get holiday card inspiration. I stumbled across an article where all of the projects were done with a yellow, orange, red and indigo pallet and the colors just jumped out at me! I knew I wanted to use this color scheme in something--then, as I was discussing ideas with myself in my journal, the "AH HA!" moment hit!

This months technique is bead embroidery/encrusting--I absolutely adore the texture in this technique and while it is very time consuming, i would definately do it again!! For additional detail photos, check out my picturetrail.

Well, it certainly has been quite a long time since my last post. I was so excited that it was the beginning of my most favorite month of the year--i do love October--mine and my daughter's birthdays are in October--i love the fall colors--and of course, Halloween.



Unfortunately, in the middle of this October, I became a victim of the collapsing economy and I lost my job. Everything in my life seems rather unstable these days, so I am grateful for the ability to create. Art is an outlet and it is therapeutic.

The cover of the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors caught my eye the minute I pulled it from my mailbox--it held a picture of the most adorable, sparkly snowmen made from re purposed bottles--I knew I had to make some of my own!

If you know me, then you know I hoard all sorts of things that I anticipate being included in some fantastic project--sometimes I have an idea of what I will do with the treasures, other times I simply must save them, knowing that their purpose will reveal itself to me eventually.

A variety of spice jars, the tins from tealight candles, funny little metal things i can't describe and all sorts of artsy odds and ends came together in a swirl of frost and snow (ok, maybe it was glitter) to remake themselves as thirteen "Snowpeeps" :)

Through a newsletter from a local stamp and scrapbook store, I discovered that one of my favorite artists, Tim Holtz, was doing "12 Tags of Christmas" on his blog. I adore all of his techniques and while I don't have ALL of his products, I simply couldn't resist trying my hand at this tag!!

So, Happy Mid-December, and I will try not to stay away so long ;)