Aug BJP beginnings

I'm just getting started on my Bead Journal Project for August (hey, at least it's still August for a few more days!)

The "cabochon" I made from polymer clay. I have a carved box from Russia that I used to make a mold. I used some kind of plastery type mold-making material that I wouldn't really recommend. The local stores didn't have any of the rubbery kind, which I really would have preferred and wanted to try. I wish I could have gotten more detail. Anyway, I think she came out OK, just a little too thick. I sewed flower sequins and beads to super-narrow ribbon and glued that down, so she could have a flower garland in her hair. I know it's just a beginning, but this time, the bead embroidery really feels like ME. That happy feeling is what makes it fun and usually makes the final product come out better. We'll see.....
Happy Stitching and beading,
~Lin Moon

July BJP

I know, I know, it's August, but I have finally finished my July Bead Journal Project. In June, I felt pressure to make something fabulous, even though I hadn't done any bead embroidery for years. I put too much pressure on myself and wondered if what I was doing "measured up". That type of thinking doesn't make anything fun and can suck out the inspiration for any project. So this time, I decided to just play - try different effects, do a little texturing, some flowers, some netting. So here's my playing...

I don't know that improvisational beading is my thing; nor do I want to draw a picture and then bead it. I'm somewhere in between, wanting to design an area with flowers or bead a great curve. So I'm still trying to find out what it is that I want to do with bead embroidery...

Things are looking up

I am very happy to report that Frisky is nearly back to normal! Even the vet was surprised that she recovered from partial paralysis to near normalcy. I think part of it is that she is a very active cat, tearing across the yard and up a tree in no time flat.

This summer has been a very bad one for me - my girls have been so busy that for the first 6 weeks of summer I was never home during the day for more than about 30 minutes at a time between driving one to and from summer school and her job and driving both to music lessons, etc. I was never available to go to the beach or have lunch with a friend.... Lots of frustration, tears, hot flashes, and very little time to blog or create. I need that creating time in order to be happy. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! School starts in 2-3 weeks, so I will have more time and my girls are going to various camps soon so I may actually create something (or just play)! Yay!

Thanks so much for all your support and emails with respect to Frisky - they are so appreciated. Warm fuzzies from blogland are so nice...

A bad bad day

It's only Tuesday and already it's been a horrible week. Yesterday was the first day of Vacation Bible School and my daughters and I are helping out all this week. I went outside to get the paper in the morning, came in and closed the garage. I read the paper and ate breakfast. Then I heard my daughter open the front door. Our neighbor was walking her dog and noticed that our cat Frisky's head was caught under the garage door! She had tried to get into the garage when the door was only 4-5" inches off the ground and it had closed on her neck. My daughter started screaming and was freaking out. We called the vet and they said we could bring her right in. (Of course this was just when we were supposed to be at the church) Frisky was just laying on her side. We slide a cardboard box lid under her, trying not to move her much and took her to the vet. The whole way there, she purred - it was very strange.

The doctor took an x-ray and her neck was not broken. But she can't walk and has no reponse in her front legs. I went to VBS, but didn't go into any of the classrooms; I was just too sad.

Frisky frequently interrupts the garage door opening or closing, so we always have to wait to see if the door will actually finish its journey. When I got the paper I had seen her sitting outside the door and waited to see if she was going to dart in. But my car was there, so I couldn't see everything. I heard the door complete its journey and went inside. She layed there for about 30 minutes, struggling to get free. I guess she thought it would always stop for her. I feel so bad. The vet had told us if her neck was broken it was "Goodbye". If we have to put her to sleep, this will tear up my daughter so badly - it is essentially her cat. I'm sorry to share such a bad story, but I am just so distressed....