Author Archives: francie

Handmade Ornaments Through the Years

By | December 18, 2018

I love making Christmas ornaments!  I always have.   My mom painted ornaments as a kid, and being an art teacher, she always had fun crafty things for us to do at Christmas time.    She still has the salt dough ornaments we made when I was 4 or 5, and the wacky Fimo ornaments we made […]

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Ornament Swap Blog Hop Again!

By | December 16, 2018

The internet can be a scary place full of nut balls and things that can’t be unseen.  But it can also be a wonderful place full of inspiration, magic, opportunities, and friends you haven’t met yet. Today’s internet magic is brought to you by the lovely Karen Williams at Baubilicious.  For several years now, Karen […]

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Bloggers’ Night Out: Holiday Style Party !

By | November 13, 2018

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending a fun evening hosted by Susan Baroncini-Moe and Kelly and Wendy of KW Style.    It’s not my usual scene, but I thought I would push myself out of my comfort zone a bit and see what there was to see.   I had a great time chatting with […]

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Beady Fun Delivered!

By | February 21, 2018

Disclaimer: This post is a review of a product that I was sent for reviewing purposes.   Opinions are my own.   A few months back I was contacted by the lovely folks at Facet (Bead and Button,) to see if I would be willing to test out their new subscription bead box that they planned […]

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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 6

By | June 24, 2017

Fancy photos were taken before sending the piece off to the TOHO folks.  We even took a few of me wearing the piece.    Then the piece was boxed up and sent off 2 day air.   All set to arrive in plenty of time for the deadline.  Or so I thought… I checked in a few […]

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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 5

By | June 23, 2017

This piece is finally coming together.  It’s looking like it’s actually going to work, but the deadline keeps looming.  In the mean time, other obligations keep sucking up my beading time. Now it’s time to start on the forehead panel.   You might remember that my initial sketch didn’t include this piece…   Time to start designing […]

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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 4

By | June 22, 2017

With the fabric problem solved, I sat down to some serious bead time.   The first step was to transfer my design to tracing paper.   The paper then gets stitched to the vinyl and from then on, it’s like coloring with beads.   Fill in the areas with the right beads, and remove the paper as you […]

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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 3

By | June 21, 2017

So now I had a skull and two lizards, but no real plan other than a head piece of some sort.   Another trip down the Pinterest wormhole provided tons of inspiration, and lead me to wire frames for Brazilian Carnival Headdresses.  Well there was no time to order one, but through the magic of the […]

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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 2

By | June 20, 2017

The lizards sat for a while, and I moved onto other projects for a bit.   Then I went on vacation, and the time crunch set in.   I decided to definitely head in the desert direction, but I figured that everyone else would probably be making a necklace, so I should make something else to help […]

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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 1

By | June 19, 2017

Back in November I was contacted by a representative from TOHO Beads asking if I would be interested in participating in their bead challenge.  Having seen all of the magnificent pieces through the years at the Bead and Button Show, of course I said yes. TOHO makes beautiful beads, and I am always up for […]

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