My Inspiration Wears Pigtails

"Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things." ~ Steve Brown

I have been absent this week, I know.

We had our lives scheduled down to the millisecond this past week. And it shows no signs of letting up. And although the busy-ness doesn't allow for much creating time, it is something I wouldn't trade.

My husband, the Bee Whisperer {and the inspiration behind my Stones entry in the Bead Star competition of the same name!}, is coaching both children. So that means on Mondays-Wednesdays it is boys 11-12 baseball with the White Sox and on Tuesdays-Thursdays it is girls 9-10 softball with the Cubs. And on Friday there was a White Sox game. And all day on Saturday, too. He actually had to go to his car in between to change jerseys, just like Superman {minus the cape of course}.


That is every night at the ballpark, late. Eating lots of ballpark food, no cooking. {And although our ballpark does have some great food - particularly during tournament time - I am getting a bit sick of cheese curds, hot dogs, chicken tenders and greasy cheeseburgers.}

So I haven't done much more than encourage everyone I know to vote for the Bead Star entries.

On Friday night our local Arts Alliance held its Arts Walk in downtown Stevens Point. The weather was a bit iffy with the drizzles here and there, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the many, many people who came out to enjoy the arts. The stores along Main Street stay open later and house the beautiful artwork of about 50 local artists. I was lucky to be featured in the window of a little gem of a shop called Paper Doll that sells the most wonderful paper products like cards, gift wrap from Italy, special pens and journals.

I also had to hop back and forth to the Gallery Q where I am an exhibiting artist. I am also on the events committee and that meant that the after party with all the food, wine and merriment fell in my lap {okay, I really didn't have to do it all, since there are some really fine people, but I wish that I could have walked the street to see all the art and schmooze a bit more, but I was stuck putting cookies on trays and cutting grapes for the chicken salad}. It was really a wonderful event and a great way to raise awareness and appreciation of the arts.

On a positive note, I was stopped by hordes of people all asking to buy my Bead Star pieces. Especially the Under $25 piece, #12. I am sure that I could have sold that one to the highest bidder about 12 times! So I know that I am on the right track! {It was a good thing I had the presence of mind to print off business cards with my voting information, because they all walked away with one.} And here is the inspiration behind that special piece....

{Vote for #12 in the Under $25 category!}

You might recall back in February that I posted about the solar system project that my third grader was involved with. And the fact that around here, when a project comes home and the teacher gives you a suggestion, that we won't allow the children to settle for that. They have to think outside the box.

Tiny Dancer thought about it and came back to inform me that we were going to make jewelry for the solar system. {I am raising that kid right, I tell ya!} So we got out our sketchbooks and came up with ideas. And then we combined our ideas before going shopping at Michaels. And that is where "Icy Rings" was born.

I knew as soon as we put this together, the Tiny Dancer and I, that this would be one for the Bead Star contest {actually, there were three that were in the running for the contest, but Icy Rings was the clear winner}. There was originally a little brown bead, striated with the exact colors that you would see on Saturn, floating in one of those rings. But I knew that no one would get that from the picture, so we opted to remove it for the contest.

And if this particular piece wins in the Under $25 category, the glory will be shared with my Tiny Dancer, since it was her idea. I just helped her execute it. I promised her that I would put both of our names on the byline, and that the picture would be one of us together. She says that we need to use the one with the pig-tails.

I couldn't agree more.

And if you haven't gone to place your vote for Bead Star, I would be honored if you would vote for me! {And if you want some suggestions for the other categories, I have friends in all of them!}
Pearls #10
Stones #14
Under $25 #12

Enjoy the day!

My Inspiration Wears Pigtails

"Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things." ~ Steve Brown

I have been absent this week, I know.

We had our lives scheduled down to the millisecond this past week. And it shows no signs of letting up. And although the busy-ness doesn't allow for much creating time, it is something I wouldn't trade.

My husband, the Bee Whisperer {and the inspiration behind my Stones entry in the Bead Star competition of the same name!}, is coaching both children. So that means on Mondays-Wednesdays it is boys 11-12 baseball with the White Sox and on Tuesdays-Thursdays it is girls 9-10 softball with the Cubs. And on Friday there was a White Sox game. And all day on Saturday, too. He actually had to go to his car in between to change jerseys, just like Superman {minus the cape of course}.


That is every night at the ballpark, late. Eating lots of ballpark food, no cooking. {And although our ballpark does have some great food - particularly during tournament time - I am getting a bit sick of cheese curds, hot dogs, chicken tenders and greasy cheeseburgers.}

So I haven't done much more than encourage everyone I know to vote for the Bead Star entries.

On Friday night our local Arts Alliance held its Arts Walk in downtown Stevens Point. The weather was a bit iffy with the drizzles here and there, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the many, many people who came out to enjoy the arts. The stores along Main Street stay open later and house the beautiful artwork of about 50 local artists. I was lucky to be featured in the window of a little gem of a shop called Paper Doll that sells the most wonderful paper products like cards, gift wrap from Italy, special pens and journals.

I also had to hop back and forth to the Gallery Q where I am an exhibiting artist. I am also on the events committee and that meant that the after party with all the food, wine and merriment fell in my lap {okay, I really didn't have to do it all, since there are some really fine people, but I wish that I could have walked the street to see all the art and schmooze a bit more, but I was stuck putting cookies on trays and cutting grapes for the chicken salad}. It was really a wonderful event and a great way to raise awareness and appreciation of the arts.

On a positive note, I was stopped by hordes of people all asking to buy my Bead Star pieces. Especially the Under $25 piece, #12. I am sure that I could have sold that one to the highest bidder about 12 times! So I know that I am on the right track! {It was a good thing I had the presence of mind to print off business cards with my voting information, because they all walked away with one.} And here is the inspiration behind that special piece....

{Vote for #12 in the Under $25 category!}

You might recall back in February that I posted about the solar system project that my third grader was involved with. And the fact that around here, when a project comes home and the teacher gives you a suggestion, that we won't allow the children to settle for that. They have to think outside the box.

Tiny Dancer thought about it and came back to inform me that we were going to make jewelry for the solar system. {I am raising that kid right, I tell ya!} So we got out our sketchbooks and came up with ideas. And then we combined our ideas before going shopping at Michaels. And that is where "Icy Rings" was born.

I knew as soon as we put this together, the Tiny Dancer and I, that this would be one for the Bead Star contest {actually, there were three that were in the running for the contest, but Icy Rings was the clear winner}. There was originally a little brown bead, striated with the exact colors that you would see on Saturn, floating in one of those rings. But I knew that no one would get that from the picture, so we opted to remove it for the contest.

And if this particular piece wins in the Under $25 category, the glory will be shared with my Tiny Dancer, since it was her idea. I just helped her execute it. I promised her that I would put both of our names on the byline, and that the picture would be one of us together. She says that we need to use the one with the pig-tails.

I couldn't agree more.

And if you haven't gone to place your vote for Bead Star, I would be honored if you would vote for me! {And if you want some suggestions for the other categories, I have friends in all of them!}
Pearls #10
Stones #14
Under $25 #12

Enjoy the day!

Inspired by...Solar System

"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline

The Solar System project is a 3rd grade right of passage around here. When Sport-o came home with the paper he announced that we needed to buy styrofoam balls. Um...no, son. If that is the example, then every kid in 3rd grade would be buying out the stock of styrofoam balls in a 50 mile radius. You will be different, I said. He railed against that, but ultimately I won{I am the mommy, after all}. We came up with the idea to use polymer clay to make the planets, complete with glow in the dark rings on Saturn and tiny silver beads strung on memory wire to simulate the stars. Now we have this project in a shoe box under his bed forever {I can't wait to bring it out to show his kids someday...or sell it on eBay for a premium!}.

So when Tiny Dancer brought the paper home, she naturally wanted to do the same as her brother. Um...no, daughter. Not only will you not get to use styrofoam balls, but you will not be using clay, either. She thought about and then her eyes lit up. "I know!" she exclaimed. "We'll make jewelry!" {I knew I raised her right *wink*}

This may be the most expensive solar system project ever. We went to Michael's and sought beads and components that were in the colors and relative sizes of the planets. Very surprising that there are all sorts of beads out there that really do mimic the pictures we have of these heavenly bodies. Of course, now I have a strand of large sponge coral Jupiteresque beads that need a home, and a great deal of rings that we didn't end up using for Saturn. But we sure had fun.

Believe it or not, Tiny Dancer did the majority of the work. Dad helped string a bit of Earth and the Sun, and I helped with the finishing,We were inspired to name our Heavenly Body Jewelry Collection by the lines of a song that played repeatedly on Sport-o's Blue's Clues boombox, by the green stripe-clad Steve. Following are the words and our inspired jewelry designs.

The Sun's a hot star

Mercury's hot, too

Venus is the brightest planet

Earth's home to me and you

Mars is the red one

Jupiter's most wide
Saturn's got those icy rings

Uranus spins on its side

Neptune's really windy

Pluto's really small
Well, we wanted to name the planets
And now we've named them all
~Blue's Clues boombox as sung by Steve

Since we were Inspired by... the jewels in our skies to create these works of wearable art, I thought this would be the perfect Inspired by... challenge to start out the new year, new decade.

How it works:

• Create a piece of jewelry (earrings, necklace or bracelet) using the inspiration of the entire Universe {think planets, asteroids, comets, constellations, Milky Way, etc. Be creative!}
  


• Post your picture to the Flickr account here.
  


• If you are so inspired {and I hope you will be!}, feel free to create as many pieces as you like for challenge and post to the Flickr account, but your name will only be entered once. (For extra BONUS ENTRY opportunities, see below). You have until 11:59 pm CST on Sunday, February 28th (revised the date to give you more time!) to post to the Flickr account. {Since the Universe is so large, I thought that I would give you more time to create your heavenly body designs!}
  


• Check back on Feburary 15th when I will announce the RANDOM winner of this Inspired by...challenge. Check back later this week for the prize...
  

In the description of your picture be sure to add the following:

• Title of the piece
  


• Short description of your inspiration
  


• Your Name
  


• Your email address
  


• Your blog or website

BONUS ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES:

• If you use an art bead in your piece {art bead is defined as a bead or component created by yourself or another artisan}, be sure to point that out in your description {with a link to the appropriate artisan’s website, shop or blog} and you will have TWO extra entries.
  


• If you blog, Facebook, Twitter, sky write or take out a billboard to publicize each week’s challenge, be sure to let me know {leave a comment on that week's challenge} and your name will be in for ONE extra entry.
  
  
• That's a total of FIVE ENTRIES!
  

Go and get inspired today!

Enjoy the day!

Inspired by...Solar System

"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline

The Solar System project is a 3rd grade right of passage around here. When Sport-o came home with the paper he announced that we needed to buy styrofoam balls. Um...no, son. If that is the example, then every kid in 3rd grade would be buying out the stock of styrofoam balls in a 50 mile radius. You will be different, I said. He railed against that, but ultimately I won{I am the mommy, after all}. We came up with the idea to use polymer clay to make the planets, complete with glow in the dark rings on Saturn and tiny silver beads strung on memory wire to simulate the stars. Now we have this project in a shoe box under his bed forever {I can't wait to bring it out to show his kids someday...or sell it on eBay for a premium!}.

So when Tiny Dancer brought the paper home, she naturally wanted to do the same as her brother. Um...no, daughter. Not only will you not get to use styrofoam balls, but you will not be using clay, either. She thought about and then her eyes lit up. "I know!" she exclaimed. "We'll make jewelry!" {I knew I raised her right *wink*}

This may be the most expensive solar system project ever. We went to Michael's and sought beads and components that were in the colors and relative sizes of the planets. Very surprising that there are all sorts of beads out there that really do mimic the pictures we have of these heavenly bodies. Of course, now I have a strand of large sponge coral Jupiteresque beads that need a home, and a great deal of rings that we didn't end up using for Saturn. But we sure had fun.

Believe it or not, Tiny Dancer did the majority of the work. Dad helped string a bit of Earth and the Sun, and I helped with the finishing,We were inspired to name our Heavenly Body Jewelry Collection by the lines of a song that played repeatedly on Sport-o's Blue's Clues boombox, by the green stripe-clad Steve. Following are the words and our inspired jewelry designs.

The Sun's a hot star

Mercury's hot, too

Venus is the brightest planet

Earth's home to me and you

Mars is the red one

Jupiter's most wide
Saturn's got those icy rings

Uranus spins on its side

Neptune's really windy

Pluto's really small
Well, we wanted to name the planets
And now we've named them all
~Blue's Clues boombox as sung by Steve

Since we were Inspired by... the jewels in our skies to create these works of wearable art, I thought this would be the perfect Inspired by... challenge to start out the new year, new decade.

How it works:

• Create a piece of jewelry (earrings, necklace or bracelet) using the inspiration of the entire Universe {think planets, asteroids, comets, constellations, Milky Way, etc. Be creative!}
  


• Post your picture to the Flickr account here.
  


• If you are so inspired {and I hope you will be!}, feel free to create as many pieces as you like for challenge and post to the Flickr account, but your name will only be entered once. (For extra BONUS ENTRY opportunities, see below). You have until 11:59 pm CST on Sunday, February 28th (revised the date to give you more time!) to post to the Flickr account. {Since the Universe is so large, I thought that I would give you more time to create your heavenly body designs!}
  


• Check back on Feburary 15th when I will announce the RANDOM winner of this Inspired by...challenge. Check back later this week for the prize...
  

In the description of your picture be sure to add the following:

• Title of the piece
  


• Short description of your inspiration
  


• Your Name
  


• Your email address
  


• Your blog or website

BONUS ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES:

• If you use an art bead in your piece {art bead is defined as a bead or component created by yourself or another artisan}, be sure to point that out in your description {with a link to the appropriate artisan’s website, shop or blog} and you will have TWO extra entries.
  


• If you blog, Facebook, Twitter, sky write or take out a billboard to publicize each week’s challenge, be sure to let me know {leave a comment on that week's challenge} and your name will be in for ONE extra entry.
  
  
• That's a total of FIVE ENTRIES!
  

Go and get inspired today!

Enjoy the day!

30 Words::Universe

{Photo credit: Sonic Julez}



Third grade science project:

solar system

all planets, ordered, labeled {no more Pluto}

Size matters {relatively speaking}.

Her idea? Jewelry symbolizing each Heavenly body.

[Good girl :-]

The Universe is waiting.





{Stay tuned....}

P.S. Head to my post Dare To...Do What You Love to enter the giveaway! You have until Sunday, January 10th to enter!

Enjoy the day!

30 Words::Universe

{Photo credit: Sonic Julez}



Third grade science project:

solar system

all planets, ordered, labeled {no more Pluto}

Size matters {relatively speaking}.

Her idea? Jewelry symbolizing each Heavenly body.

[Good girl :-]

The Universe is waiting.





{Stay tuned....}

P.S. Head to my post Dare To...Do What You Love to enter the giveaway! You have until Sunday, January 10th to enter!

Enjoy the day!