Last of the Catch Up

After lagging on posting again, I decided/realized that just blogging for the sake of getting back in to it, wasn't working. I need that drive to get it done right now, and with so many things on the go, it's just not there. SO, with that in mind, I'm going to try diving back into things and see about a schedule of some sort in the next week or so. What sort of schedule will depend on how much writing I can get done amid everything else, but right now it looks like it'll stick with weekly.

That said, I'm now at least one post behind, so I'll see about getting that second post out over the weekend ;)

As for the catching up, well, with so many things on the go, and the majority of it being 'in progress', I'll save some of those to share with the finished products.

Last post ( or so) I showed you a pic of my peacock necklace that my muse shoved in front of the owl stuff I was supposed to be making. I DID finally finish an owl piece. Just one, mind you, but it's a start.

not the best picture, sorry. It was taken with my iPad, which I have mentioned previously, IS possessed, so...*shrugs* sometimes I get great pictures, sometimes I don't.

And an autumn themed bracelet I was doing at the same time as the owl...

I was going to add an owl charm or two in, but decided I like the maple leaf charms instead. Like the orange and dark purple, but I'm not sure about the light purple flowers... they may end up removed...and those 'brown' beads are actually all different shades of purple. The only other colours in here are those orange leaves and the  copper chain, toggle, and charms... everything else is purple.

And that's it for the new jewelry. sorry, but I'm STILL getting back into the swing of it. I have a wire wrapping project ( several actually) that I'll be starting just as soon as I clean up a work space, and that, while   NOT jewelry, will be taking its place for at least a month... maybe two.

Another project (s) I mentioned were some Halloween themed items. Only one is actually completely finished... sorry, two... kinda...  but I don't seem to have a picture on here of the other one....the ipad must have eaten it...

Anyway...

The finished -  The 3D Skull Mirror ala  Epbot.com 

It was surprisingly easy to make  AND.. despite playing with knives and hot glue, I neither cut myself nor burnt myself :D All is well!  I think I want to play with it a bit to ditch the shine on the frame, but otherwise, it came out awesome and I love it :)  Go check out the site for the tutorial to make your own, although now that the Halloween stuff has been cleared out of the stores, you made need to improvise or change it up a bit... or wait for next year.

The not finished... the Goblet... as I said, this was just a cheapo white cartoony plastic cup that I decided to play with while painting other stuff at the same time. And forgot to take a before picture of, of course...

He looks better black, but aside from that, I still don't know what all I'll do to him. Maybe wrap the stem in some twine? Maybe just add some detailing? Haven't decided.

The last one that's still in progress are my bottles. I have more of these glass bottles, mostly maple syrup jugs because they're great shapes. I'd considered doing the faux coloured glass treatment to some, but haven't gotten around to that yet. So instead... I did this - first I glued on some stuff, here I did a front half skull slightly tipping downward with some centipede halves, a half skull cut level, and a giant spider *shudder* don't ask... I really don't know why I did a spider.

Then I got messy. The black one is done with strips of newspaper soaked in glue, and the bronzey one is done with stripes of paper towel. The spider one is missing because he crapped out before the paint stage... he was a newspaper one, but it didn't let enough detail through, so it'll get cleared off and redone with tissue paper ( now that I've bought more)

As you can see,  the paper towel one has a lot more texture to it. I think it'll be either paper towel or tissue paper for the rest when I get to them.  The black one needs a few fixes with it's paper before I move on with it, but they'll both get a bit more done to them to bring out the texturing and such, and then I'll wrap the necks in twine... maybe the bottom too. I have a cork for the one, and the topper that's attached to the other one will get some attention too :)

And yes whenever I finish them I will share a pic.

So that's it I guess. While I've been doing plenty of stuff, most of it is just bits and pieces that have yet to be fit into a whole ( the name 'chaos' is there for a reason, people ;) ), plus there's my writing which... probably wouldn't fit in here without some tweaking... and warnings lol. I did try doing a newsletter years ago to go with my website the writing was housed on, where each newsletter had a chapter of a story done just for it. Maybe I'll figure out a piece to do here like that? Have a set day just for that so those who aren't into it can safely ignore that day's post without worry. Something to consider I guess.


My next post will a return to my artist/shop feature posts :) I know so many talented and wonderful people and it's past time to get back into showcasing them!  And Sarah, of Pookledo, who I believe I have featured here before ;), has made that leap that many of us would like to ( in theory anyhow, while in reality we're just terrified of doing ;) ) of getting her own brick & mortar shop !

Not sure if there will be a return of the giveaways and such, since current shipping costs are rather daunting, and my funds are bit lower than I'd prefer this time of year ( I have a set amount I like to keep my savings at, and while it's still healthy, I did dip a bit deeper into it than I meant to over a few splurges ) but I think I will at least do one for the Christmas season. whether it'll be something to ship out to the winner, or just a gift certificate, I haven't decided yet. And who knows? I might end up doing more than the one... I do enjoy them :)

So keep your fingers crossed for me to keep this ball rolling forward! And feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email with any suggestions of things you'd like to see me tackle, post or schedule wise, concerning a feature, contest/giveaway, or about my 'ongoing story' idea. I mostly write a blend of paranormal/drama with a bit of action and romance tossed in, and my current work is more that but in a  fantasy setting. I've done some sci-fi in past as well, but while bits of it might crop up in my work, it's not a genre I work in much now.

 Just put 'blog' or 'chaosblog'  in the  subject line so I'll know it's not spam ;) And don't worry, I always check my spam bin... whenever I remember to check my email, anyhow :) lol

  (skyescreativechaosATgmail.com ... I'm sure you all know to substitute the @ for the AT ;) )

Octoberfest Bloghop

*shushes the crickets as she clears away the cobwebs*

Yes, I AM still here. I'm sorry for the long silences between posts, but I just haven't felt the blogging bug biting me >.<  But here I am, as promised, to celebrate my favorite time of year :)

 Due to far too much rain and cold these past few weeks, I was unable to get out and take photos of all the beautiful golds and reds, and sore feet have put a damper on my long walks in search of the colours that still remain... as of today, the golds and reds are already mostly browns and blahs :(  That said, I do have photos to share that I took earlier in the month!

Below are a few shots taken at the biggest fall festival in my area 'PumpkinFest'. These was taken inside one of the big tents, where they were weighing all the giant giant pumpkins and other veggies in hopes of finding a new world record.

 The pumpkins were all so large that they had to be move via slings and forklifts!  The one in this photo weighed well over a thousand pounds :)

I was bitten by the painting bug a few times this month, and an autumn themed painting was always on the list, but until yesterday, it didn't happen. Even now, it's still not finished but I took some pics to share anyhow :)

 To start with, I took red, burnt orange, and antique golden yellow, and just drizzled it in zigzagging lines across the canvas, then took a sponge and dabbed them all together.

 Then once it all dried, I took a skinny sponge brush, and added in brown and a soft powdery blue. This about three quarters done now, and completely sponged at this point. Next I'll take the paint brush in and do some detail work, so whenever I get that done, I'll share it again :)


I had several necklaces and bracelets planned and in the works, all with an autumn theme to share with you, however none of them managed to get completed. They're all laid out on bead boards, or still in sketches :(  I do however have some earrings to show you :)

 Some leaf headpins made by Shelley of Tori Sophia, paired with antique copper wire, and black and bronze tone Swarovski crystals.

 Another set of headpins from Tori Sophia , this time layered over some light jade leaves, with antique copper and green swarovski.

 A pair of charms that the photo really doesn't do justice too. Also from Tori Sophia, and with antique copper, I added some sari silk bits to the back of them. I did have some golds and browns with them, but the bluey green just popped better.

 And of course, what is October without skull jewelry? I made four pairs of skull earrings, but I seemed to have misplaced both the earrings and the photos of them, so here are two of them lol
Above are red swarovski crystals with red skulls - the bigger ones are magnesite, but the smaller ones are from Michaels and the label says reconstituted turquoise...O.o look the same to me, but then they could be... I never bothered to look them up ;)
Below are more of the tiny Michaels skulls, paired with some silver skull charms and links.

And to finish this off, I'll share with you my own, much altered recipe, for pumpkin raisin muffins. I use rice flour in place of regular flour, but changed it back to 'normal' for this post. If you want to use the rice flour as well, just add a quarter cup cornstarch as well.

1/3 cup veggie oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup brown sugar ( not packed)
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin ( NOT pie filling! I use E.D. Smith's Pure Pumpkin, or when they're in season, I get a couple small pie pumpkins and make my own puree)
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice ( you can make your own by using equal parts ginger, cinnamon, & nutmeg)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Combine all these into a bowl and mix until smooth. Then mix in 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup oat bran . Once the flour and bran are all mixed in, add 1 cup raisins that have been soaked to plumpness :)

Fill lightly greased muffin pans until 3/4 full, then bake at 350'F for 23-25 minutes.
I use the extra large muffin pans ( texas size, apparently) so they take longer.


There you go :) Some giant veggies, some leaf and skull earrings, and some yummy muffins, which I should warn you, are rather addicting.

Carry on throughout the hop and enjoy what everyone else has to share :) I'll see if I can't have another post up in time for Halloween :D

 Click here for the OctoberFest Blog Hop Participants List

Catch up

** note ** If you're looking for my BSBP reveal, click HERE.

~ ~ ~

Sorry about all the missing posts in April >.< Any and all winners were contacted on time and have long since received their prizes. As for the missing April shop feature, I had two shops left in the queue, and got tangled up in checking out some stuff, then forgot to actually POST. I WILL be posting one THIS FRIDAY. I'm writing it today and scheduling it to ensure it ;) Which means there's just one more after this one, so if any of you 'shop owners' would like to be featured here and can offer a little something up for grabs to my readers, give me shout :)

As for the whys behind the lack of blogging... I don't think there's really a need to mention I'm just really good at procrastinating... you all know this by now ;)

So what have I been up to that my blogging has been next to non-existent? Aside from procrastinating, of course ;)

The usual, of course... plus we just finished off another round with Project Bead ( which I'll be updating and mentioning here soon).

Had to get my BSBP done and up, and of course, I'm still hopping my way through :) I went against my new 'no more hops' rule and joined up with TWO, one of which I've already completed my piece for.

Oh, and remember the Project Bead 'Sneak Attack'? Where Shelley Graham Turner had put out the word looking for purple beads so she could  make earrings for Alzheimer's... so we dropped a box containing a few THOUSAND purple beads on her doorstep... remember?

Well... seems Shelley has turned the tables on us with that one ;) She decided she couldn't possibly use all of those on her own, so she started up a fb group called 'Jilly's Bead Posse' in memory of her sister, then put out the offer to send a baggie of purple bead soup to anyone who would be willing to use it to make earrings for her, and send them back to her.

 In no time she had a nice little group of earring designers working away.

And then... it grew.

... and Shelley kidnapped me and pulled me into it, because 'it was my fault anyhow' ;) lol

Jilly's Bead Posse went from a group of ladies making earrings for Shelley to hand out to people taking part in the 'Walk to End Alzheimer's' , to an acknowledged associate of Alz.org. My project right now is helping get items listed in the etsy shop, as well as get my own contributions submitted. Oh, and make more purple stuff... current items I'm planning on are key chains and zipper pulls ;)

I'll be telling you all a bit more about this group in a future post. My giveaway with a twist went over rather well there for the Global Genes Project ... might have to do something similar for this one ;)

I'll be trying VERY HARD to get back into the blogging habit, and as I said, I'll have a few posts scheduled ahead of time for you ;)  Friday for sure you'll have a new giveaway to enter with the shop feature, so be sure to pop back and check it out ;)

Think I need to end this update with some pretty pictures,  don't you think? How about my sunny-day-sitting-on-the-porch projects? Those on FB with me have seen them already, but oh well ;)

Autumn's Glory

( yeah I know... sitting outside on a gorgeous spring day enjoying summer like weather .. and I create a piece with an autumn theme to it >.< lol )

Passion for Purple

Check back tomorrow for this month's shop feature, and enter the giveaway!

 

October Fest BlogHop

Yes, another bloghop.. but one I couldn't resist taking part in since it's celebrating my favorite time of year :) Not just October, but all of autumn ! Rita of 'Toltec Jewels' & 'Jewel School Friends', drew together an impressive list of prizes and participants to celebrate the season :)

Being an 'open celebration'  we were given the opportunity to share whatever we wanted to - jewelry, photographs, recipes,ANYTHING  that was inspired by or practically screamed 'autumn'.

I'd planned on two different hikes this month, the colors and scenery being fabulous and perfect for taking photos to share with you. Hike number one, while lovely, happened to coincide with dead batteries in my camera >.<  Hike number two was rained out... and it's 'rain date' was cancelled due to being sick. I do have some that I managed to sneak in on a walk home from work one day... a day that I was hit with the urge to take my camera with me despite that being something I don't usually do. Good thing I did, hmm?

Colours

Autumn Trail

Autumn Gold

Sunshine Leaf

Into The Dark

I recently purchased a big ole box of chipstone and other yummy beads from a lady in Texas .. and among them was some that just kept calling to me. The reds, oranges, browns and creams just screamed 'autumn' to me and so while watching tv one day I started to play with whatever was in front of me... and an idea was born... and blossomed into this

Some time after that was finished, I made some Halloween jewelry pictures elsewhere on my blog here... and after choosing a bunch of beads to do another one, I ended up swapping them out for the same beads in different colors, and making this

 

Blog Hop List

Host Toltec Jewels      http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Heather Otto               http://www.thecrafthopper.com

Mischelle Fanucchi     http://www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com

Marlene Cupo             http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com

Shaiha Williams          http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com 

Shelly Graham Turner   http://shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com/ 

Shelly Joyce                 http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com/

Charlie Jacka                http://clay-space.com/blog

Pam Sears                     http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Margareta Saari            http://magsinhelmet.blogspot.com/

Marita Suominen          http://momentofjewelry.blogspot.fi/

Lisa Posthumus  https://www.facebook.com/lisa.posthumusharper

Jeannie Dukic                 http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/ 

Cheri Reed                     http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Arlene Dean                   http://aglassbash.blogspot.com/
Duffy Blevins                  http://bubbasjewels1.blogspot.com/
Susan Kennedy             http://suebeads.blogspot.com/
Dita Basu                      http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com/
Sonya Ann Stille            http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/
Audrey Allen https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wrapped-Up-In-Magic/145456948869148

Kashmira Patel               http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
Kathy Lindemer              http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/
Kris Mattingly                 https://www.facebook.com/kris.h.mattingly    
Lennis Carrier                 http://www.windbent.net/
Shannon Hicks               http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Paula Hisel                    http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html
Karin Slaton                   http://backstorybeads.blogspot.com/
Shirley Moore                 http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache             http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Valeria G. Rome             http://fancysphynxdesigns.blogspot.com/
Lo                                  http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.com/
Zoe Marcin                     http://beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com/
Carolyn Lawson              http://carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Kimberly Booth      http://thepinkmartiniboutique.blogspot.com/
Sherri Stokey                  http://www.knotjustmacrame.com
Tanya McGuire                http://www.tanyamcguire.blogspot.com/ 
Debbie Rasmussen          http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com/
Christine Stonefield          http://sweetgirldesign.blogspot.com/
Sandra McGriff            http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com<-- You Are Here

Renetha Stanziano           http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/
Evelyn Shelby       http://raindropcreationsbyevelyn.blogspot.com/
 Tanty Sri Hartanti              http://tjewellicious.blogspot.com/
 Colene Waltermire     https://www.facebook.com/groups/426147797447039/?fref=ts
Lee Nova                     https://www.facebook.com/groups/426147797447039/?fref=ts

September already...

Damn the time went fast... 

Anyhow, we're now into the start of my favorite time of the year. While autumn won't start 'officially' for a couple weeks yet,  I know now that the 5:30 am walks to work will be done in shorts and flip flops, less and less. Pretty soon I'll be forced to wear shoes outside again...*sigh*

But with that little inconvenience comes the milder temperatures, the beautiful colors, the wonderful scents ... damn... starting to crave a cup of pumpkin tea already... Is it just my talking about it? Or the fact that my toes are chilly making me think of fuzzy socks... and fuzzy socks just go perfectly with pumpkin tea and autumn leaves.... ? lol

Crap... and I just realized, I've been home from work three hours now.. and still haven't put on any coffee!! *gasp* Horrors!! I need to go make a pot... I can NOT have an apartment that is not filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee... well... unless the scent of some Autumn-inspired tea...

I'm rambling, sorry >.< Back to the point.

Yes... I had a point. Honest.

Of course now I've been distracted by thoughts of coffee and fuzzy socks, so it make take me a minute to remember it... >.<

Ah HA!!

Autumn :) 

Well, September and October, anyhow :)

Those of you who were reading my blog last year at this time, may remember that this is MY time. Which means of course I like to celebrate.

I posted a little question on BSC asking what everyone thought was a better idea; one big giveaway, or a bunch of little ones scattered through out the month.

There are aspects of both that I like. I really enjoy doing the month long progressive bundles, but then I like the quick little ones too. They didn't work well the last time I did the little weekly ones, but my readership was significantly smaller then. Back then, a week long giveaway would get maybe four or five entries... if that. I'm hoping that the bigger 'following' means more entries for the little ones.

Yes, that means I'm doing the little ones :)

Of course, I'm also going to do a big one, too :D

So here's how it'll work.

The first Friday in September  .. that would be this coming Friday ;), I'll post the big guy. Then during random blog posts through out the month I'll re-post a photo and link to the big guy ... with some new additions added in ;)

In the mean time... every now and then, I'll also be tossing up some random little giveaways.You'll have to pay attention to each one, because they'll all be different. Some will have specific tasks for you to do to enter... some will have different lengths of time to enter. If you don't follow the rules, your entry won't count ;)

I got tired of regular old boring giveaways... what's fun about clicking a button? No... the little giveaways are going to be 'special' :D

And since everyone who reads this blog knows I've been on a bead buying binge this past month... you all know I've got tons of goodies that might just find there way into bundles ;)

And we'll start things off right now.

Who would like a chance to win these?

16  8mm Dream Agate Rounds, 2 double holed carved horn beads( they could be bone. They're a little over an inch long and slightly curved ). Plus a bundle of faux suede cording in a nice chocolate brown :)

All you have to do to enter... is show me your socks.

Yes. That's what I said.

Show me your socks.

Grab your camera and take a photo of your socks... like this. 

Yes, I went and pulled on some socks. Those are some Muppet socks my brother gave me a couple Christmases ago. I have a whole set ( except for Kermit..I gave those to my mom so she'd have an extra pair of her faves...I prefer Animal ;) )

And for the record, all my skull socks either have grown holes and been tossed, are missing mates.. or are in the laundry ..>.< That's why I'm wearing the Muppets.

Anyhow... back to business.

Post a link to your photo in the comments here. Remember, if your picture is on Facebook, you have to make sure the folder it is in, is set for 'public' or we can't see it... and it won't count ;)

Oh... and the socks have to be on FEET... not just laying the bed or the top of the hamper ;)

And don't just show me boring old socks... pull out your faves... and your fun ones :)

I decided to do a second little prize for my favorite photo...

A pair of lavender and white fuzzy socks :) these are ladies size 9-11, but really... they're soft and fuzzy and warm... and its not like you'll care if they're a bit big on you ;) Plus, if I'm REALLY impressed ( or jealous)  of your socks... I may just slip some beady goodness into the package with those socks ;)

So, quick! Grab your camera and go dig out some socks to pull on!

I'll give everyone until Thursday, September 7th... hmm... we'll say 7pm EST. 

~Skye

Still Playing Catch-up

So, despite several scribbled notes scattering my desk... and floor... and beading bag... concerning blog posts to write and projects to finish... *sigh*  Yeah, it's been one of THOSE summers. So many things to do, but no time to seemingly get them done..

.. and when you do have the time to do them... you don't have the drive or energy >.<

So today I'm taking a massive stab at 'GETTING THINGS DONE' .

Is it working?

YES!!

I completed two, VERY long over due projects, got them all photographed, packaged, got the notes written, and MAILED THEM. Whoohoo!! Two biggies crossed off my list! 

Plus I've written out two lists that are still attached to the notepad that remains right in front of my monitor so I won't loose them ; one list is for all the upcoming blog posts, both regular, as well as for hops, that I need to write, and the other list is for the rest of the current  as well as upcoming projects that I need to do.

One will not be completed. My dad requested a crap load of earrings and things that he could sell at his yard sale this weekend. According to my to-do list and what day it currently is... unless I'm hit by a massive creation drive the next two days, the best I can do is price all of the stuff I have here already made that have never found homes... and that I'm not allowing myself to keep >.< lol And he only gets them if I make it out to their place in time.. or they come up and get them ;) lol

Anyhow, so looking at my lists... I feel more positive about clearing them in time to still get a fairly early start on Christmas season projects. I'm thinking I might even manage to get in some Autumn and Halloween creating too if I keep myself on track :D

Now, onto one more over due task that I'm sure you're all waiting for - and it's ONLY one day late ;) lol

The winner of the Autumn Pantone Beadsoup from August's Freebie Friday giveaway is...

Gina Hockett !

Gina, you've got two weeks from today to contact me with your mailing address. :) If I haven't heard from you by then, I'll draw a new winner!

There will be more blog posts concerning a myriad of subjects over the next while, so keep your fingers crossed that I clear out my list so I can move on to making more pretties all the quicker! 

And you can also cross your fingers that tomorrow's blog post will be an early start to September's Freebie Friday ;) That will depend on whether or not I get the blogging stuff done and get time to tackle getting the goodies together for it! 

And remember last year? Autumn is my fave time of year, so starting with this month, there'll be either extra special giveaways... or just more of them ;)  Keep an eye out to see what I decide to get up to ;)

~ Skye

Freebie Friday #8

Welcome to another FF :)

To the new followers and readers, the first Friday of every month is Freebie Friday - which means you'll discover a giveaway of some sort that will run until the last Wednesday of the month.

Last FF I put together a bead mix, the one before that I did some handmade chain. For August, I was originally thinking of doing either some jewelry or some handmade components, but the month got away from me >.< too much work, too little time *sigh* Shame on me for all that procrastinating I tend to do >.<  The other day when I realized it was time to post the new FF and I didn't have anything set aside for it, I'd thought of ransacking my new goodies and maybe offering up a pendant and a few coordinating beads...  then inspiration struck.

While hanging out in the Bead Soup Cafe, someone posted the Pantone Fall color chart.

( picture via artbeads.com )

Hmm.... I wonder if I have enough of those colors to put together into a Pantone Fall soup?

hmm... yup :) Looks like. 

 So there you go... The winner  for August will get a nice yummy Fall Pantone Soup :) The beads are a mix of everything... seriously. That big yellow leaf is made of deer antler,  the orange nuggets are dyed magnesite, the little brown ones are wood... the rest are shell, porcelain, clay, Czech glass, glass, and acrylic.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  For those who are unable to use the Blogger 'Follow' feature, Subscribers &  Email followers count as well. Just put which way you follow in your entry :)

I gotta run , get some more work done on my challenge piece for tomorrows reveal and hop, then while that's drying, go buy some coffee while it's on sale, then come back and finished & photograph my pieces :) Totally last minute run-a-round, as always :)

~ Skye