*sigh*

Did it again >.<

Keep planning on blogging, but keep thinking of things to do first... and then never get around to actually blogging >.<   I'm going to try to stop that ! I'm setting a goal to blog at least once a week... whether I've got photos taken or edited to share, or jewelry done, or NOT. I will post! lol

So... promise made.

In recent news, I bit the bullet and signed up for BSBP #8. Yes, it'll no doubt be a huge hop... which is rather wearying just thinking about >.<  but despite that, it's always a lot of fun and gets my butt in gear :)

I've also been considering jumping in the Ears Inspiration challenge going around... where a photo is shared on the first Friday of the month, and you have to make a pair of earrings using it as inspiration, then blog and join a little hop on the third Friday of each month. Pros - gets me creating and gets me blogging. Con- another freakin' hop >.< lol

Haven't picked up the tools or the paintbrush much this month at all, so far, but I will.

Another challenge I should join is the one for cleaning/reorganizing studio space... you know, since I'm doing it anyhow..I should sign up. Only problem is... if I sign up, I just know I'll be hit by something ( even just the lazies) and not get anything more done >.< lol I'm thinking I'll just do it and if I'm done in time or have made significant progress, I'll blog and link it in... considering this has been an ongoing project for over a year now... I'm not holding my breath. It's one of those things where I'll between half and three quarters done, and then something gets in the way - whether it be illness, or whatever- and by the time I get back to it.... things have exploded again and I need to start all over :(  this time it'll be different though... I have a stack of boxes behind me, into which I'll sort everything as I dig through. Anything I have plans for but am not sure when I'll find the time, will be packed, labelled, and stacked neatly out of the way. Anything I use or will use, but don't have a need for often, will go into the cabinet behind me ( the one I can never get to because of the stuff piled up in front of it ;) ) AND, most painful of all... I WILL admit to things that I will probably never use or get around to doing... and I will get it out of the house. In addition, I will make room on my work space, or find a place with easy access, for the tools and equipment I'd like to use but can't get to.

That is what I've been trying to get my butt in gear and do for the last couple weeks >.< The bitter cold temps are back and since I'll be hiding out indoors as much as possible, I'll be trying to get started on that this week.

There. Blog post written... no photos, but a few updates.

As well, since I've been so horrible at keeping myself going at it, I think I need to reward all my followers who haven't deleted me from their lists out of boredom... I shall have a giveaway :) It's been AGES since I had one, so I'll need to make sure it's a good one ;) My bead stash has grown considerably... plus there's plenty of stuff that I haven't found a spot for yet... maybe I should just gather up a bunch of that and do a little soup giveaway...  Hmmm.. decisions decisions... Like I said, I'll have to think on it ;)

So... next blog post I'll have something up for you to try for. Whenever that is... some time within a week.. or so... lol ;)

BSBP #7 !

It's finally here! After two ( very much appreciated ) delays, the final round of the seventh Bead Soup Blog Party is here!

For those who may remember, my partner for this round is Lucie Bouvier and here's what she sent me :)

 

You may remember that those bottom red and black spotted beads turned out to be poisonous seeds that had been banned in this country, and had to be tossed... so sad :( Despite their unfortunate demise, they did give me an idea for a project using the sole remaining bead in that baggie...

Originally going to be a pendant for a necklace, it ended up becoming a zipper pull/bag charm.. because I needed one :)

 See? A cute little death theme zipper pull in honor of 'deceased' poisonous beads ;) lol

 Okay... so back to the beginning.

When I got this lovely soup, I was both thrilled and a little stumped... everything was RED. I've never had a single colour soup before.. it kinda threw me for a bit. Still, I immediately sat down and sorted things into baggie with beads from my own stash that I visioned going with them into different projects.

Since the focal is the one that always seems to be the 'ohmygodtherevealistomorrowandIamnotgonnamakeit' piece I'm still working on the day before the reveal, I decided to tackle it first. I knew right off I was going to pair that simple heart with pearls and gold, and that I wanted to add something to the heart itself. I envisioned strands attached via fancy metal connectors, so did up two strands , one for either side of the heart... and then got sick >.< Everything was sealed up into the baggies and set aside. Once I was feeling better... the separate strands/connectors idea no longer struck the same spark it had and so it stayed in the baggie while I played with the rest.  Once again, the focal piece became the last one finished >.< lol I think it's now traditional for my BSBP pieces. I tried to resuscitate  the connecter idea a couple days ago, but was plagued with head aches that made hammering a bad idea, until today I bit the bullet and took it apart to start from scratch.

Twice.

 Really glad I did since I rather like the way it turned out :) 

Heart on the Wing

Sticking with my original colour scheme/layout, I alternated white potato pearls, red glass seed beads, and gold oval beads with the red swirled glass beads Lucie sent me. The golem Beads heart pendant has a gold coloured wing layered over top .. and of course, I made matching earrings :)

If that was my LAST completed piece... what was my first, you ask?

Well duh... when stumped, fall back on the best muse kick starter... EARRINGS!

Gothic Droplets

 I took two gunmetal filigree bead caps and squished the little buggers flat... then used some gold jump rings to attach a couple faceted garnet rondelles and the Unicorne glass drop beads to the bottom. And I only lost one garnet and three jump rings somewhere beneath my desk >.< lol

The next done is actually three pieces... what I'd originally intended to be a triple strand bracelet changed it's mind as I was still working on the different strands, and instead became a ' stack' of bracelets. I'd add in a few bangles to fill out the stack, but haven't made 'those' yet.. so here are the three main ones...

Coke bracelets

I used the coke bottle cap bead, and the other red & metal bead form Lucie, and paired it up with more pearls - this time some gunmetal coloured ones in various sizes, and more little red glass seed beads as spacers.

The next piece was another one that was 'in progress' for a while. It began with the Tagua Nut toggle clasp, and the accompanying nut beads Lucie had sent.. I knew it was going to be a charm-style bracelet from the start, but beyond that I was a bit stumped. I kept getting over powered by the red >.< Finally I hit upon the perfect colour to ease of the fierceness of the red.. a choice I blame completely on Shelley Graham Turner and her darn purple bead situation. You may remember that from my post ' Sneak Attack', where my project bead faeries sent her a huge box of purple beads... Which she turned into another group called Jilly's Bead Posse, where we all make purple jewelry to donate to raise funds for Alzheimer's in memory of Shelley's sister Jill.

Anyhow, thanks to Shelley, I ended up with purple taking over my creative center of my brain, and knew the only way I was going to get this bracelet made was to use purple. Decision made, I then sorted through to find the right shade of purple... then the fun began. I started making dangles only to run out of head pins... so I had to take a break and run out for more. Then after making a couple dozen mixed dangles, I decided one style in particular, and rather then do a bracelet full of mixed ones, I'd do mainly these... the already made dangles that no longer fit could be made into earrings later on.

I got all the dangles attached... and then ran into trouble with the toggle. First I didn't like the way I had it attached.. so I fiddled with it a few times... then my adjustable clasp plan didn't work because I'd forgotten to check my chain link size versus my lobster clasp >.< So I was faced with a heart breaking choice.. either remove EVERYTHING and put it on a bigger linked chain... or do a simple lobster clasp with an extender chain and use the tagua clasp for a different project.

Which way did I go...?

Garden Charms

Neither :)

I nipped the bracelet in the center and turned half the toggle clasp into a focal instead, attaching the chain to either side. I added a third link with a flower and crystal dangle off the new focal, just because I felt like it :)

The red parts are all from Lucie, and are all natural nut beads :)

This bracelet will be heading off to Shelley to be sold in support of Jilly's Bead Posse's Alzheimer's efforts :)  I might be sending the coke bracelets too if I get the remaining bangles finished to complete the set. The pearls do have a very purplish tint to them, after all ;)

So, despite the delays and the issues that popped up, I'm happy with how things turned out, over all. It's going to be hard to part with that charm bracelet... that is one of those pieces that I love and want to make mine... but if I kept it it would rarely get worn, and I KNOW that. Far better to stick with my plan for it :)

Thank you for dropping in to check on me :) Sorry I've been pretty invisible around here this month. I'll try harder to blog more again! In the mean time, make sure to hop along the rest of this reveals list and enjoy some truly lovely work :) To find out what my partner did with the soup I sent her, click HERE.

  Third Reveal HopList

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

C.C.D.C.#2 Intro and Rules!

 

Welcome to the Second Creative Chaos Design Challenge :)

 

There are four simple rules.

#1 – Send me an email or pm to let me know you have received your kit :)

#2 – There are four baggies of ingredients in the kit -You must use SOMETHING from each baggie.

#3 - You must take photos of your finished work.

#4 -You must have a blog post containing the photos of your work posted on the day of the hop ( which will be decided once everyone has reported in that their kits have arrived.)

You do not have to use ALL the items, but you can.

You do not have to use all of each item you chose, but you can.

You do not have to use the items as you find them... you may alter them in any way you see fit – drill holes, patina, paint, glue, etc etc etc.

Please do not post about what you received in this kit until I give the okay. Almost everyone wanted their kit to be a surprise so let's not ruin that for them. Once I give the okay, you are welcome to post about what you received, as well as in progress work... but you can't share your finished work until the day of the hop. I suggest either scheduling your post for just after midnight ( EST) , or post it before you head off to bed.

If you don't have a blog, then email me your photos and post at least one full day before the hop date, and I'll add it to my post.

The little yellow tissue wrapped bundle is NOT part of the kit. That is simply a little thank you for being a follower/ reader of my blog and for taking part in this challenge :)

You are of course welcome to use any of your own items combined with those in the kit, including adding more of the same if you happen to find them.

Oh, and the most important part … be creative and have fun :) I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

~

 

This round's roster ( & shop list - will be updated to include the blogs long before the actual hop date ;)) :

Marge Beebe of RockCreekCreations

Kristi J of CuriositiesbyK

Tammie Everly of TTE Designs

Sarah Goode  of Poodledo

Sherri Stokey of KnotJustMacrame

Paula Hisel of SimplyBeadiful

Shawn Mills of Bent Wire Boutique 

 and ME, of course :D

Here's the kit we all get to play with :)

Heheh .. sorry, but almost all of them wanted the kit to be a surprise when they opened it.

As soon as I get word they've all arrived, I'll share the ingredients with you :) The first kit has already arrived... and it was the one with the furthest to go!

~Skye

And the winners are....

 Marge, Kristi, Tammie, Sherri, Sarah, Paula, & Shawn Marie :)

Don't believe me, check out Rafflecopter below :p lol

a Rafflecopter giveaway

wow I really love that thing... just click a button and it chooses your winners for you and displays them on the widget for you. so much easier and quicker than random.org ;)

So there you have it. The 7 designers who will be joining me for the next round of the Creative Chaos Design Challenge :)  

Assuming of course that they email me their mailing addresses so I can get their bundles mailed off to them.I'll do the same as the giveaways - you've each got two weeks from today to get back to me with your address. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll pick someone to take your place ;)

Once I've heard back from all the participants and discovered whether they'd like me to post photos of the kits before they receive them, or to wait until after wards, as well as the reveal date they all agree on, I'll do another update on this :)

I really need to get these things packaged and mailed though... because I keep seeing things that would be so perfect to add in... >.< lol It's getting hard to resist!

Kreativ

Some of you may know that my coffee perk died on me last week... for a coffee lover, this was dire news... especially since I couldn't find my receipt and warrentee, and was fairly sure it was still covered. The machine had been a gift but I had the receipt...  A week of using my little four cupper .. which actually only makes two cups in my size mug... and my mom came to the rescue.

She came up to spend the week end with me, and brought her spare perk with her... her spare perk being my old 'slow-as-molasses' one. We cleaned it out, and had a pot that took about half an hour to perk ... *sigh* It was really good coffee, but still... half an hour was not an acceptable waiting period of coffee. Then she found my warrentee for me and proved that it was indeed still covered... for another three months :D

This morning I woke at 3 am for no reason.. again. Every other month or so I seem to hit this run of suddenly being wide awake at 3am for no reason. since mom had the pull out bed in the living room, getting up and going on the computer or working on some jewelry wasn't really an option, so I just stayed put until I fell asleep again. 

Six o'clock saw me awake again and this time I got up.

Since mom and the cats were all still snoring, I used up the last of my vinegar and cleaned out the perk again, speeding it up to about a twenty minute pot. While I was doing that, I made coffee on my 'mini' perk. When the smell of fresh coffee, and the sound of me doing dishes and moving around in the kitchen failed to wake mom, I decided to turn on the computer. She managed to sleep through two hours of me cleaning, typing and brewing coffee, plus a phone call. I was impressed ;)

We headed out for a bit more shopping before she was going to head home, and I came across a fantastic deal on a new coffee maker. One that made bothering with the warrentee seem rather like a waste of time. So I have a new perk :) And it's got a timer so I can set it to have my coffee ready and waiting for me when I wake up or get home from work :D

I also talked to my landlady, and I'm picking up a new mailbox tomorrow after work. I found a nice long one with plenty of room for my photo prints, and parcels of beady goodness, so I should not have any more worries about my mailman jamming them into my itty bitty mailbox and risking breaking everything >.<

And then, as an extra bonus to my day, I popped on the computer to discover this

Marlene Cupo awarded me this :) Isn't that a bright spot to any ones day?

And now I get to award it to ten others :)  As I told her, I knew of four right off the top of my head... the rest needed some consideration because I read a lot of blogs and so many of them are deserving of this!

 When you receive this award, there are a few rules:

1. Post a link to the person who awarded you
2. Share 7 well-thought out random things about yourself
3. Award to 10 other deserving bloggers and let them know

So, here are my 7 random but well thought out things about me :)

1- I'm the only woman in my family ( immediate plus my mothers side), over the age of eighteen who does not have a tattoo. My mother has two ( three of you count the one covering her first one). She got her first one  in her early forties. The following year, my grandmother and one aunt went with her, and they each got their first while she got her second. The next time she went back to get the one fixed, they went with her and got their second ones.

2- I love my hair best when every one else seems to hate it. If I get a hair cut I love, everyone else hates it... if I dye it a shade I love, everyone else seems to hate it. Luckily, I don't let their opinions on it get in my way :) It's my hair and I'll do what I want with it ;)

3- I'm not a girly girly, but I have my girly moments or phases. Five years ago, I hit a major girly time and wore makeup, jewelry and skirts or dresses on an almost daily basis. Then I went majorly tomboy and wore mostly mens clothes for a couple years. Including these great mini boxer briefs I found that are fabulously comfy, but I can't find anymore >.< The past year or so has seen me combine the two, wearing mostly jeans or pants, with mens shoes, and a lot of mens t-shirts ( but that's because they have the best ones ) , but mixing it up with some feminine tops or jewelry.  Friday I wore a sundress and make up, going totally girly for no special occasion, for the first time since...well... since my last girly phase five years ago.

4- I like to read and name critters after characters in the books. when I was younger and lived on the farm, I named all the calves and pigs and rabbits that way. I only named two household pets that way though, since I usually let their personalities or first impressions combine to help with them. The one was a cat I named Fizgig, and the second was a hedgehog I named Binx.

5- Inside, I'm a fun, vibrant person, who is a tad crazy, and once you get started talking, I have trouble shutting up. Friends online especially know me this way, as do those in person who spend enough time around me to get to know me a bit. Most people who meet me at random when I'm not being 'myself',  see me as being rather quiet and shy, and no doubt rather boring.

6- I love music and have very eclectic tastes. My mp3 player is jammed full of a bit of every thing and programmed to play it all randomly. Friends find it hilarious when I'm listening to keep asking me what I'm listening to every few minutes due to the insane differences. It could go from Enya, to Marilyn Manson, to Nickleback, to Loretta McKennit, to Johnny Cash, to Blink 182, to Neil Diamond.... you never know ;)

7- I love writing and painting and creating... but have a hard time getting my brain settled on one thing and keeping it there until it's done. I'm very ADHD when it comes to my projects and tend to be working on several at any given time. Currently, I have seven different bracelets in progress, a painting almost done, and am writing in about five different story arcs, as well as working on an art exchange group, putting together an ebook, and participating in two different bloghop/challenges as well as running my own.  Oh, an of course there's the usual blog writing and procrastinating I do in between all of that :)

 So there. Seven random but well thought out things about myself :)

And now  I shall pass this award on to 10 deserving bloggers.

 ~ Lori of Pretty Things , although I'm sure she's already received a few of these at least, for her posts full of laughter, courage, inspiration, and shared pain that always leaves you with the understanding that you're not alone.

~Marina  of Faniciful Devices with her blog full of randomness and snicker-inspiring comments, combined with stunning jewelry and techniques. 

~Anvil Artifact's with a blog full of beautiful jewelry & photos, experiments & advice, and always some laughter :)

~Shay of Shaiha's Ramblings, for insights into the bright spots of her day and the things that she turns to for inspiration, as well as bits and bites of her life and the things within... and lots of fabulous book reviews :)

~ boobies of Boobies, Babies, & a Blog  for a blog chocked full of giveaways and laughter :)

~ 'Sparrow' or Star Tribe (formerly SparrowSalvage) For a blog full of beautiful creations, courage, and  strength.

~ Anna of The Laughing Raven for tons of beautiful, inspiring photos and tid bits.

~ Maneki of Wild roses and blackberries  for two blogs full of jewelry and techniques, as well as photos that should be inspiring jewelry :)

~Char of Crap I've Made  for a constant flow of creativity and 'stuff to do' .

~ Evie & Beth of EBBead & Metal Works  for sharing their mother/daughter creative lives :)

Go visit them and see what I mean :)

If I didn't mention your blog, don't take it personally. I read, follow, and love a lot of blogs, all for various reasons. Choosing ten was very hard since a great many more deserve this too :)

~ Skye

Another Round?

My Creative Chaos Design Challenge went off without a hitch with everyone posting on time, and while I wrote my blog out with only two pieces finished, by the time I scheduled it to post, I had several done. I literally made three quarters of my designs Friday afternoon and evening, which left only one item in my kit that I didn't use.

I was seriously impressed by the others designs too, especially one done by a thirteen year old girl who got creative with Shaiha's kit :)

I promised some little prizes to go along with it, and here we go with that :) since no one used the full kit ( although my last minute scramble got me close ;) lol ) We'll just go with a vote for favorite piece :) 

I'll share a pic of each piece here with a number attached to it, and you leave a comment below with the number you're voting for :) Make sure you leave your email or have it attached to your blogger profile so I can get in touch with you, because everyone who votes will be entered to win a little something too :) 

* note ; the photographs below were all taken from their creators blogs, and do not belong to me.

#1

~ ~ ~

#2

~ ~ ~

#3

~ ~ ~

#4

~ ~ ~

#5

~ ~ ~

And no, I'm not including mine since I obviously don't need to win my own prize ;) lol  Voting will be open until Thursday July 5th at Midnight ( EST) and the winners will be announced in the new Freebie Friday post :)

So, while you're all casting your votes and waiting for a winner to be chosen... who's up for a new Creative Chaos Design Challenge ?

This one would take place mid August - early September ( depending on the participants ) and has room for SEVEN designers aside from myself  :) 

Want a sneak peek ?

Hmm... you know, now I can't decide if I should show  the full kit after the team has been picked like I did last time... or make you wait longer lol  Part of me likes the element of surprise... Not showing you until the kits have been received.

As you can see, this one is more earthy tones in favor of Autumn... where as the last one was more of a Summer theme.. of course, aside from that itsy bitsy glimpse in the center there.. that's ALL you can tell :)

The rules will be the same as the previous Challenge. ;  they have to use some of these items to create jewelry... ( the more of it they use, the happier and more impressed I'll be ;) ) They don't have to use it 'as is'; they can alter any or all of the items in any way they want. They create, they photograph and they share on the chosen reveal date. I think I'll have them use at least a third of that pile. 

Once again I'll have a couple little prizes as well. One will be for the one you all vote for as your fave piece , and the second prize(s) for any of them that manage to use ALL of the kit. 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creative Chaos Challenge Reveal!

Okay :) We're here!

A while back I made up four kits of various objects that I offered up for grabs to three of you. It was the first step for the first Creative Chaos Design Challenge :)

And here we are... reveal day :)

Joining me in this little jaunt outside the normal are Shaiha of Shaiha's Ramblings , Alicia of All The Pretty Things , and Rochelle of A Creative Chelle .

A refresher of what the kits contained ;

 

The month kind of got away from me. I had some designs started, then things kept getting in the way and they got shoved aside. Then, when I pulled them back, I ended up discovering I'd forgotten my original idea... misplaced the design I had sketched out... and then when I got past that, I found mistake that had to be fixed >.<

My challenge was indeed challenging ... lol Or rather 'challenged' >.<

I didn't use all of my ingredients, but I ended up being able to use a bit of everything except the white shell pieces. I'm not loving some of them, and some need to be taken apart and have some things fixed.. in one case for no real reason, just that I noticed something that is now driving me nuts just knowing it's there >.< lol

So without further ado... here are my designs for the challenge.

The large blue shell pieces were combined with some fake pearls to make a pair of earrings.

 The washers were linked together to make a pair of earrings, and a bracelet. with a large lobster clasp to make it adjustable.

 Necklace with buried 'treasure'

This is the bottle, and the idea I had for the Skull blog hop a few weeks ago that the weather messed up on me. ( the red suede cord is only loose there due to the way the chain is laying... when worn, it's pulled even with the chain) .

 Here's a close up so you can see the skull partially buried in the sand. The sand is sealed 'mostly' in place so it doesn't shift around. There are a couple long rice pearls in there too to look like bones, but they didn't want to show up in the photos.

  This bugger was the first design.. the pendant was a lucky find after I had picked out the colors and started the chain.. it was in a mixed bag of beads and buttons I picked up for a buck and matched  nicely.. so I added it. This is the two creamy buttons, one of which is attached to the clasp.. that I made :D

It's also definitely getting redone.. again. I think I'll take the pendant off and shift the buttons around a bit...

  

See...I made that twisted wire hook and eye all by myself :) It was SUCH a pain in the ass to do, to, let me tell you >.<

 

 This is just a quick little choker that I need to add some weight into the front of... I think maybe a few little blue crystals or something....  either that or turn it into a wrap bracelet...

  ....and here is the last quick little bracelet... that I actually really like..I'm wearing it right now :)

 I took one of the white buttons and ran the cord through two of the holes, then looped it around and poked both ends up through the other two holes...

 

You pull the cords to loosen it enough to slip it on, then pull the two ends to tighten it again, then just tuck and wrap the ends. It is REALLY comfy... and simple.. and I like it :)

And that's it.  The last two were quickies I did just to use up some more of my stuff, and I took all of the photos this afternoon... thus the crappy lighting, sorry >.<

I can't wait to see what these same items were turned into by the others :)

Here are the link to the other participants :) Be sure to stop in and see what they made :)

Alicia - http://www.allprettythings.ca/

Shaiha - http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Rochelle - http://acreativechelle.blogspot.ca/

And for those interested, the kits for the second Creative Chaos Design Challenge are all ready to go :) I'll be posting signs up some time this week :)  And July 6th is the new F.F. giveaway post for those wondering why it hasn't gone up yet ... it's the first Friday of the month ;)

~ Skye

FF Winner

Once again time flies away from me! I keep meaning to blog more often , and I have plenty of things to blog about, yet I just can't seem to get around to actually setting aside the time to DO it >.<

This week is especially hectic, what with my manager being on vacation and me working extra shifts to cover her, plus ending up staying late several shifts just to get things done. On top of that, the Creative Chaos Challenge reveal is this Saturday, and I still need to finish off my designs... would be terrible if the hostess didn't finish off her own challenge ;) 


Since that would be more than enough work right there to keep me hopping, I of course took on more... I'm almost done that panda painting I showed you a peek at last post... just need to add in some finishing details and shading now, plus I've got the kits for the next Creative Chaos challenge all ready to go... just not sure on whether I included too much or not enough... I'll have to check with this rounds participants before I toss up the sign in form ;)


Then.. because all of THAT would be MORE than enough to keep me busy... I have my Bead Soup all ready for me to pack up and mail off to my partner, Maria, this week ( I'll be doing a blog post introducing her soon, I promise!) , and then on Monday I responded to a message and am now hip deep in the running of another big project.




I think I'm done taking on extra work for this week ;)


Well, aside from a couple blog posts...


... and some writing...




.. and some photography if the sunlight cooperates....




>.<


Okay...so..I suppose you all want to know who won F.F.# 6 ? Well according to rafflecopter, it's Susan G.


 So, Susan G., give me a shout with your address and your decision on what you want - all of the chain, or just one with some extras to go with. 

I'll catch you all again in a day or so for another post .. and if not, then I'll catch you on Saturday for the Creative Chaos Challenge reveal :D

~ Skye

Skull Appreciation Day hop

Yes you read that right... it's Skull Appreciation day :D

I noticed a post about this blog hop on the Skull A Day blog and just knew I had to take part.

My original design remained a sketch for quite sometime before I decided to get busy on it... then I kept fiddling with it and changing it... then when I FINALLY decided I'd better get my ass in gear and make it... since the hop was just a couple days away... the rain set in and I couldn't get the sand I needed...

.. yes sand...

.. no I won't tell you what it was for because I still plan on making it... at some point...

... honestly :)

So after a month of procrastinating, and missing out on a really cool design, I got bit by the bracelet bug.

I made these two to go with a tribal gypsy stack.. but never got far with the rest of the stack... lol

Then I got another idea.

I grabbed a rather colorful.. yet ugly ( in my opinion.. mainly because it was colorful...not a touch of black.. how horrible ;) ) memory wire bracelet I'd been playing at putting together.  I cut strips of black and red spiderweb lace ribbon and wrapped them around it, using the colors beads beneath to add bulk, then over wrapped it all with some black wire. Once that was done, I added on some skull charms :)  I rather like this and think I'll keep it for myself. I may add a second wire over wrap with a few red and black beads, and some more skulls of course.

For the record, I hate memory wire. I hate working with it, I hate wearing it and I hate looking at it.

I do however like this bracelet lol

Sorry for the photo quality... it's been overcast and miserable for the past few days and I put off the photos ... and now it's night time and it's this or nothing >.<

I also had a pillow and bag I was planning on making ( once again, my design plans bypassing the sad fact that I can not sew ) , but of course...they did not get made. Maybe another time.

Thanks for checking out my blog during this hop :) Make sure to pay some of the others a visit and see what skully-goodness they have to share :D

Terra
Tori
Black Dragon
Monique
Helen
Lady Brayton
Fiona
Christine
Jane
Judy
Alison
Susan
Andrea
Smudger Challenge
Laura
Lisa
Kristy
Steph
Glittery Katie
Lisa
Kapree
Ms. Ruin
Kathi
Bombshell Stamps Blog
Dianne
Donna
Nydia
Lady Coral
Suzi
Julia
Patti
Miko
Renee
Wendy
Christina
Hazel
 Skye
Wenchkin
Betsy
Scrapbook Stamp Society



~ Skye

Freebie Friday # 6

Another month gone... damn >.< lol

So much to blog about but  I won't for two..well.. three reasons

1- there's too much for just one post ;)

2- I've got a headache and the white screen combined with the tapping of keys isn't nice >.<

3- this blog post is already serving double duty as it is ;)

So... which to do first...

... announce last months winner....?

 or show this months prize ?

hmm.... decisions decisions... you know I suck at making decisions, right? lol

alrighty... winner first.

According to Rafflecopter, the lucky winner is  Kimberly Flood :)  Kimberly, you've got two weeks to contact me with your address so I can mail off your ribbons and cords... if I don't hear from you by then, I'll draw a new winner.

So what's up for June?

I'm kinda torn... so I'm going to give the winner an option again... if I get the second option completed before the end of the month >.< lol

 So... this month you can win...

 ....approximately 2 1/2 - 3'  each of my hand hand beaded chain...

 ...OR ...if that's just too much chain for you ;) What about your choice of one of the above chains, plus a 'surprise' assortment of coordinating beads and, with any luck, a matching toggle clasp ? Sound more to your liking?

Of course, since I won't know what choice the winner will make, I'll just have to make up matching toggles and bead packs for each, just in case... And then I'll either end up with two compete sets left to decide what to do with... or I'll have three sets of toggles and beads... either way, definitely fodder for another giveaway ;)

This month's giveaway will run until Wednesday the 27th, when I'll announce the winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out the Father's Day inspired design challenge and join in this open challenge ! the reveal and blog hop will be on June 16th. Then drop in on June 30th for  the Creative Chaos Challenge reveal !

~ Skye