Participating member of 2011 Mommytography 365 Project
and
2011 Mommytography 365 Project Sunday Assignment

Birthday Beads

I made these for Kat, whose birthday is tomorrow. I hope she likes them!

Tree of Life Pendant necklace

Sparkly Party Beads

I had such fun making these. I am discovering that beading is quite as satisfying as crocheting, although in a very different way. When I crochet, it is a leap of faith that the pattern and yarn colors will work together well, as I am never (even after all these years of crocheting) really able to “see” how the project will look as a finished project until it is done. The real work is the actual crocheting and there is a sense of excitement as the project begins to finish up if everything has come together as planned. With beading, I can lay out the beads, move them around, try this and that and actually tell how it will look before they are strung. All the real “work” is done in the planning and playing with how the necklace will look. The actual stringing and finishing is done in no time at all and almost a let-down in how quickly the project finishes.

I do need to set up a “bead center” in one of our spare bedrooms – I believe Bill became weary of moving bead boards and bins around the dining room table whenever he wanted to eat.

Amore Arizona – Desert Sunsets

Saturday we drove to Phoenix and visited with family, which is always nice. When we left home, the sun was shining brightly, but we could see low dark clouds all around us and sure enough, the snow began to fall just north of Huachuca City and continued until the outskirts of Tucson.

Falling snow in Arizona

And then we were back to sunshine!

Arizona desert

For most of the day it was sunny and very cool, especially by Phoenix standards. We did even have a little spell of raindrops on the windshield while in Phoenix, but not enough to even run the wipers.

On the return trip we were treated to the most spectacular sunset between Picacho Peak and Marana (north of Tucson). The mountains to the east were getting rain/snow and the setting sun cast its red hues on the clouds, making it appear like the mountains were on fire.

Arizona Mountain view

Arizona Mountain sunset "fire"

And the sunset was gorgeous!

Arizona sunset

Arizona sunset

These were taken from inside the car, going down the Interstate at 75 mph! The first two I took with my cell phone and the rest with my camera. The cell phone does a really good job and I may end up using that more than my camera! And yes, Bill was driving. If I had been driving, we’d have been camped out on an overpass taking pictures until dark!

This post is part of my Amore Arizona series that I mentioned in my post on Contentment,
in which I write about and post pictures of the things I love about Arizona.

Just A Moment – Twelve

Friday ritual inspired by other blogs. A single photo from this past week…. few no words…. just a moment captured in time. If you feel inspired to share…. leave a link in the comments with your moment.beads and things

      • Beads, beads, and more beads!
      • A book that represents the several books I’m currently reading or have just finished this week
      • “Teach Me To Long Stitch” craft book that is the beginnings of a plastic canvas craft kit for Miss Munchkin’s upcoming birthday

All making for a very messy dining table, indicating the need for finding a more permanent place for beading projects.