karen lynne beads

2012-02-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Here is February's Bead Journal Project. It is made to pair with January's BJP, making a Mother/Daughter set. All I did was switch the two colors of the necklace, making the bronze more dominant then the green.

And here are the two necklaces together.

2012-01-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm learning how to embroider. I'm not sure why, but I am. Sharon B, from Australia, has a blog called Pintangle. One of the things she does is called Take a Stitch Tuesday, or TAST. Every week, on Tuesday, she posts directions to do a stitch. So far this year we have learned Fly stitch, Buttonhole stitch, Feather stitch, and Cretan stitch. There is a Facebook TAST 2012 page, stitchin fingers group and the Flickr TAST page. I post on both the Facebook and the Flickr pages. I've noticed that many of the other people doing these stitches are also doing the Bead Journal Project, as well as other online art activities. I think this is a large group of wonderful artists. Click around some of the sites and see what you can find!

2012-01-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

A little bit more complicated. Two rows of beading on this button.

2012-01-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

I embellished this bead with blue, just around the edges.

2012-01-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Here is January's Bead Journal Project. I decided to continue the Mother/Daughter necklace concept that I started in November and December of last year. I will be doing necklaces in pairs. They will be similar, but not exactly alike, and they will have the same pendants.
This necklace is done in a modified Right Angle Weave stitch. Two sides have one bead and two sides have three beads. It's a shorter necklace, so that the glass pendant hangs just below the neckline. Well, at least it does on my thick neck.

2011-12-30T02:05:00.000-08:00

Here is the next embellished button.

2011-12-23T00:37:00.000-08:00

I decided to try my hand at embellishing buttons. Here is a before and after of my first attempt. I was going for something simple. Just wanted to enhance the design of the bead, not cover it up. I think I need to get some more of these buttons. I have more ideas floating around in my head.

2011-12-17T08:23:00.001-08:00

This blue on black anklet is made using the Right Angle Weave stitch. Yes, I use that stitch a lot.

2011-12-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

Here is December's Bead Journal Project. This is the daughter half of my first Mother/Daughter necklace set. I posted the mother half for November's BJP and I will give it to my mother. I'll keep this one. When I see Mom next, hopefully in Febuary, I'll get a pic of the two of us wearing our necklaces.

2011-12-03T08:28:00.001-08:00

Here is a Right Angle Weave bracelet done in red, with red crystals for embellishment. I really like this one.

2011-11-26T08:26:00.001-08:00

I like this bright and sunny bracelet. It's done in Raight Angle Weave. The red beads are discs. Just love them!

2011-11-19T08:27:00.001-08:00

My mother introduced me to the work of Carla
Sonheim a few months ago. She paints, writes books, teaches classes, and blogs. I'm sure she does more that I haven't discovered yet.
One of the things that she does that I like is what she calls Blob Thursday. She paints a, well, a blob on paper. She emails this to those on her list. Our assignment is to print the blob and draw, paint, or what ever to make it into a creation of our own. Then you post it on her Flikr site, Drawing Lab flickr group. If you are interested, either in seeing what people have done, or in joining in, I urge you to click onto her site.
I've included here the latest blob (#10) and what I did with it. My pirate alien seems to be a hit on my flickr site. I can't seem to figure out how to put a link here. Still very new to flikr. But, my user name is Jandikk if you want to try and take a peek.

2011-11-12T08:00:00.001-08:00

Here is a yellow double wide RAW bracelet embellished with clear star beads. I thought something bright and cheerful would help keep us all warm.

2011-11-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is November's Bead Journal Project necklace. I decided to make "Mother/Daughter" necklaces. The first set will be, of course, for my mother and me. This one is my mother's. Mine will use the same pendant and some other beads, but some things will be different. I'll post it for December's BJP.

2011-10-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the business card holder in gold and white. A friend is buying it to give as a Christmas gift. That's so cool!

2011-10-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple more three dimensional RAW bracelets. Each one has 4 sides and the embellishment bead is in the center.

2011-10-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

After last week, I decided that my little bead pouch needed a four leaf clover. Here's to some better luck.

2011-10-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I had found one of my cats, Grey, that had been missing. Well, he wasn't very healthy, and he really wasn't doing very well. Wednesday morning, he left the house and hasn't been back. I'm assuming he won't be back.

Thursday afternoon, Georgie wasn't feeling very well. By that night, I knew she wasn't going to make it. She died in my arms Friday morning.

Georgie and Grey were mother and son.

They are survived by Buddy, another son of Georgie, and the dogs, Gruf and Spunky.

I really miss both my babies.

2011-10-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a three dimensional bracelet done in Right Angle Weave. It has three sides to it. It was interesting to make, but doesn't wear very well. It looses it's shape when put around the wrist.

2011-09-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I forgot to post this morning. Between switching to overnights and finding my lost cat, I didn't even realize it was Saturday. The first pic is one I took of Grey about a year ago. The second is one I took of him yesterday morning, just hours after I found him while walking in the neighborhood Thursday evening. He's seriously underweight, limping, filthy, and terrified. Poor baby! I weighed him this morning, 7 pounds. I can feel every bone in his body. He's been eating, though not a lot. It's water that he wants. That, and chicken from my dinner. :) His nose and footpads are starting to heal up. He purred for me this morning. He's lounging on the back of the couch right now. He's finally relaxing and not being so scared. At first, he flinched every time I spoke or moved a hand near him. He's not hissing at the dogs anymore either. He used to sleep curled up between them! But, he's already showed signs of improvement. He is loved here and he's starting to remember that.

2011-09-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

This is a necklace where I braided the strands between the bigger beads. I really like this look. It helps that it's a nice rich green color.

2011-09-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me these beads she found at a garage sale.

So, I made her this necklace to say "Thanks!"
I challenged myself to make a necklace using only the beads she gave me.
I can't wait to surprise her with it!

2011-09-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

These are little pouches that I made for business cards. The green one has money in it. I'm sure other things could be put in them, too.

2011-08-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Mom gave me some drawing supplies when I saw her earlier this month. I decided to try my hand at zentangles. Here's my first one ever.

2011-08-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here's August BJP. The cord on my bead light is broken, so while I'm waiting for it to get fixed, I'm beading without enough light. That made this month the perfect time to do pet hair. Each hair represents one of my babies. The brown and white is for Gruff. The black and white is for Spunky. They are both dogs. Father and son, actually. The long black one is for Georgie. The short black one is for Buddy. They are mother and son cats. They are a very major part of my life and needed to be represented in my pouch. :)

2011-08-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

I was experimenting with the RAW stitch. These bracelets are little triangles, instead of little squares. They are a bit three dimensional. I like 'em!

2011-08-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

These are some pendants that I made way back when I was working Saturday Market. It was something I could work on that was easy to put down when a customer came to my booth.

2011-07-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is a small basket I made years ago. It fits in the palm of your hand. It is a very simple pattern, so I've made a number of these, most of which I have given as presents.

2011-07-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

I've (finally) added some new items to my Etsy shop. These 100 % USA grown cotton washcloths are machine washable.

The star design has a pocket on the backside of each point. This allows the insertion of your finger for cleaning small or hard to get areas. Great for cleaning around the faucet or around your eyes.

So far, the designs come in Faded Denim and Kaleidescope.

The round design is good for general cleaning or can be used as a hot pad.

I'm charging $5 for the star and $4 for the round cloths.

These wash cloths can be found on ETSY, or email me at jandikk@yahoo.com.

2011-07-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 sides to a free form Peyote bag I made years ago. It's very funky, with fringe, pockets and ruffles. It even has three little legs on the bottom. This was a lot of fun to make.

2011-07-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

Found these pendants on clearance at Walmart. Woo Hoo! Got 12 pendants all together. I'm seeing 2012 Bead Journal Projects.

2011-07-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here is July's BJP. I decided that my little pouch needed some stars. They are made with silver lined clear beads that really sparkle. Photo copying sometimes doesn't catch everything.

2011-06-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is a simple Right Angle Weave bracelet. The catch is a bundle of beads I stitched together in a 6 sided star shape.

2011-06-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a brown anklet. The stars are a wonderful hematite-like color.

2011-06-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here is another item for my little pouch. June's BJP is a small feather.

2011-06-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

This bracelet is small red stars embellished on blue and clear RAW.

2011-05-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are two ancient, worn out coins that I made for May's BJP. Since my wrist has been hurting, I went with small and easy. These, as well as last month's gems, go in March's little green pouch.

2011-05-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is a simple necklace I made using beads from a broken necklace. I was going for something suitable for a bride on her big day.

2011-05-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

This Right Angle Weave bracelet is embellished with small gold stars. It can be found on my ETSY site. Just look for Karenlynnebeads.

2011-05-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

This is a necklace that I made years ago. It's a bit simple in design, but I think it works.

2011-04-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here's January's BJP. Finally got it to actually be 3D. It's not quite what I had planned, but most of my stuff works out that way. :)

2011-04-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is a very quick and easy necklace to make. Very fun!

2011-04-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the emerald to go in my pouch. I couldn't get a closer pic that wasn't all fuzzy.

2011-04-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a ruby for the pouch. It's a bit of a rough cut.
Let's see what else I can do for next week.

2011-04-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

This is a little basket that I made using peyote stitch. I thought it was very interesting what using bugle beads did to that stitch. 'Course, it was fun, too! I took the pic outside, hence the rain droplets.

2011-03-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

This bracelet was made with Right Angle Weave in red and clear beads. Then it was embellished with shiny blue stars.

2011-03-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a little money purse that I made for March's Bead Journal Project. Next month, I'll make something to put in it!

2011-03-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is a string of beads made up of Delica beads. Peyote stitch is so versatile.

2011-03-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

This bracelet is made with Right Angle Weave.

2011-02-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

Here is another version of the previous pattern. I like this one better.

2011-02-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is a necklace made up of just seed beads. I learned the basic stitch in a class from years ago. The stitch is expanded in the portion that lies on the chest. Just my own little touch.

2011-02-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is a piece I made way back when I was learning peyote stitch. Yes, it took forever to make. The catch is a button that my mother made. You can see her work at "Focus on Fiber". There's a link to the right.

2011-02-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

Here is Febuary's BJP. The pink heart is made with seed beads in Peyote stitch. The lavender center strip and clasp is RAW. The yarn is an Alpaca/Acrylic blend that my mother recently sent me. The embellishment on the necklace is made with tiny donuts.

2011-01-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

This is an anklet made with RAW in purple and clear beads. It is embellished with a translucent star.

2011-01-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here is an adjustable choker made with a netting stitch. I used teal seed beads and pearl drops. The catch is two toggle buttons sown together.

2011-01-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a ring and bracelet combo I made. It's all silver and shiny. One of my favorites!

2011-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here is January's BJP. It's supposed to be a three dimensional snowflake, but it's all floppy. Now, I bead pretty tight, and I worked on it for this piece. I tried adding a little candle wax to the center joint, but that didn't work. The beads are too narrow and too filled with thread to use wire. I guess a should have used wire to begin with. If anyone has any ideas on how to stiffen this up, I'd sure like to hear it. If not, I'll start over and use wire, i guess.
Thought about it some bit. I wonder if I could put some very fine beading needles along the main axis.....

2011-01-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hi, all. Happy New Year!

I started a new Blog today. karen lynne crochets. The new one will be devoted to crochet. Pretty obvious, eh?
Please check out today's post. I'm putting a link in with the blogs I follow.

2010-12-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a little green and red basket with a lid. I used a netting stitch.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

2010-12-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a free form, peyote stitch basket. The base is a flat button. It fits easily into the palm of the hand.

2010-12-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

Here is December for BJP. Just something simple and festive.

2010-12-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

Here is November's BJP. It's not my usual thing. But, I guess that's how you grow. I used brown, amber, and gold beads to embellish a diagonal grid. The amber beads on the base just glow under the right light. I couldn't cover the whole thing.

2010-11-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

This is a fairly simple bracelet to make, using Right Angle Weave. I used two contrasting colors to give it some interest. Bugles for the multiple catches is the focal point.

2010-11-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

This is an anklet I made years ago when I was just learning to bead. The sliver bells have a light sound, making this one of my favorite pieces.

2010-11-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

I found these beads on clearance yesterday. Had to have them. The clear leaves just reached out and grabbed me. Then, I saw the brown ones. They will go quite nicely in my November BJP. And yes, Mom, half of them are yours!

2010-11-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here is October's Bead Journal Project. Most stitches make squares. I made hexagons for this one, just for something a little different.

2010-09-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here is September's Bead Journal Project. It's the beginning of football season. I used green and yellow, the colors of my favorite team. Go Ducks!

2010-08-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my mom and I went to the Oregon Zoo, in Portland, Oregon. I took a lot of pictures. These are the best, I think. I didn't bring a pen or paper to right down anything about what I was taking pictures of. I remember some, but not others. The first is a zebra. We really liked the markings on this one. Every other dark stripe was faded. Very pretty.

Here is one that I didn't even look to see if it was a crocodile or an alligator. This one was completely under water, right up against the glass. I think it was looking at me....

These two are of the same lioness. She was very beautiful. Lions are my favorite animal.

I couldn't resist the picture with someone's little boy next to her.

This picture is just of a little bird, again I didn't even look to see what kind, that kindly sat still long enough for me to snap this shot.

This mountain goat sat and watched all the guests as they came into the zoo. He looked pretty bored.

I loved the tails on these Colobus monkeys. I'm picturing trying to comb all that hair.

This little guy is a caimon. I thought he was pretty cool. He didn't even blink.

2010-08-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the August BJP. It's made with irridescent purple beads and translucent teal donuts. OK, seriously, the donuts are garbage. They are put on the ends of pegs to keep product in place when shipping displays. They are made of thick plastic. I just thought they were cool and kept them, instead of throwing them out.

2010-07-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

I posted these three hats on Etsy. $10 each. When I was done taking pictures, Grey decided that he wanted his picture taken, also.
Sorry, but Grey is not for sale.

2010-07-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here's July's BJP. Yes, I'm posting it on the last day of the month. And, yes, I finished it in June. Procrastination at its best!

I think the Fourth of July theme is fairly obvious. It's a right angle weave with the stars as embellishment. Simple, but cute.

2010-06-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here is June's BJP. Leaves and flowers goes with June, I think.

2010-05-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I put this hat up for sale on ETSY. $10 is the asking price. There will be more.

2010-05-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here's my project for May. It's a right angle weave base with embellishments. Something simple and fast. In blue, for Mother's Day, and blue is my mother's favorite color.

Next project is to crochet some cancer caps. I've only ever made one cap before. It was actually what I learned to crochet on, about 2 million years ago. LOL!

2010-04-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the April installment of the Bead Journal Project. It's a little more subtle than I thought it would be, but I still like it. Three layers, purple, pink, and yellow. I picked the colors for Easter.

I had planned to do all twelve of the projects as layered pieces, but I think I'm done with that. This last one just wasn't as much fun. So, I'm thinking about a base of right angle weave, and embellish it with what I can find in my bead bins. We'll see how long that idea lasts!

2010-04-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the March BJP. It's a little late. March was..... hectic. It's three layers in green, for spring and St Patrick's Day. I can't remember the name of the stitch, and can't find it in my notes.

2010-02-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

Here is February's installment of the Bead Journal Project. I made three strips of Peyote stitch that are three layers thick. Dark red, light red, and pink. Then I pieced the strips together at their ends to make the bracelet. Using delicas made it a lengthy project, but i like those beads for Peyote. On to March!

Here is a closeup, better showing the separate strips of Peyote.

2010-01-31T16:57:00.000-08:00

This took a few weeks to make. The idea came to me as I was working on the bracelets for the Bead Journal Project. Thought it would look more like a water lilly, but I really like this. Looks more like a rose. The base is Right Angle Weave in round. I couldn't find any good directions for that, and I wanted it to have a bowl shape, not be flat. So I had to punt. Then I added the petals by adding loops to the RAW.

2010-01-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

I joined an online group called Bead Journal Project 3. We make a project, involving beads in some way, every month for a year. Here is my January project. I used the Right Angle Weave stitch, with three layers. It's in white, for snow, winter, hope, new beginnings.

As I was making this project, I had to wonder how it would look if I offset the layers the length of the bracelet, instead of the width. This I did in black, grey and white.

I'm pleased with this month's work, but can I keep it up? We shall see.

2010-01-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in turquoise moons. This is the last of the stretchy moon bracelets.

2010-01-06T06:16:00.001-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in tan moons.

2010-01-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in lime moons.

2010-01-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in mauve and white. I really like the mauve beads. They have a little shimmer to them.

2010-01-01T05:53:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in grey moons. I really like the dark spacer beads with these light grey moons.

2009-12-31T05:57:00.001-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in orange moons.

2009-12-29T06:07:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in peach.

2009-12-28T06:17:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in red. I was going to put this one up on Christmas and, somehow, never got there.

2009-12-24T07:06:00.001-08:00

Here's the stretchy moon bracelet in green.

2009-12-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is a very nice, bright yellow.

2009-12-22T06:07:00.000-08:00

This stretchy bracelet is in a wonderful brown.

2009-12-21T06:09:00.000-08:00

Here's the stretchy moon bracelet in blue.

2009-12-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

TA DA! This piece is finished. All seven layers.

2009-12-20T15:56:00.000-08:00

Here's the indigo layer. Only one more to go.

2009-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

Here's the next layer on my rainbow bracelet. Two more to go.

2009-12-18T05:57:00.000-08:00

I really like this bracelet in black.

2009-12-17T06:16:00.000-08:00

This stretchy moon bracelet is in white.

2009-12-16T06:05:00.001-08:00

This bracelet is in lavender.

2009-12-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

Here's the moon bracelet in pink.

2009-12-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

I love these moon bracelets! Here's the first one, in purple.

2009-12-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

This bracelet is green with green crystals.