With the last bit of sunshine I finished the squid. The legs/tentacles turned out better than I had hoped. It was certainly a lot easier to do the tubes in my lap and then add them. I had some crystal roundels that worked well as toes. or at least closures. I have not yet found a neat way to make the Russian spiral come to points (what I would have preferred). I was pleased that those tiny glass daggers fell into my hands as I was searching for eyes and they make great eyelashes. This beast does not have much else going for it but the eyes. I am also pleased at how the colors of the original come through the transparent beads. I think I was moving so fast last night I failed to really look at and enjoy all this little creature taught me.Thank goodness that edge of pink beads under the skirt show up.

In looking through my latest auction win from Ebay I found this "Lavender Bunny." I had not see this before so immediately wanted to try it out. The weird pinkish color is a different fabric than the Beanie Babies usually use. It is smooth and has a tiny print in it. I love tea-stained dolls but this fake simply does not do it for me. The paws and cheeks are done with the normal Beanie Baby fabric. It is a lot easier to sew through than the smooth fabric. However I must say the head is marvelous and is sewed on crooked so the animal has a lively sense. I was relieved to see that in ordering all those pounds of Preciosa beads there was this kind in lavender. The beads are each different in the amount of color in them. It looks like the kettle of color was not stirred enough. It gives a super mottled look that is perfect for this bunny. I had to try out some tan pearls to see how they work and so far so good.

While having four heart attacks and three strokes on the same day (so it feels) I also worked a little  on the legs. To the left you can see how I beaded around the leg but this was very time consuming and clumsy so I got the idea of making the Russian spiral (as a tube) and then slipping it up the leg. Works like a charm. Adds a nice new texture. It is so much easier to bead these tiny parts off the animal and then slide them on and sew into place. I remembered the trick from the time I was beading tree branches

Are you as glad to see me back to doing the animals as I am? Whew! What a relief. I had started on this squid several weeks ago and then ran out of the clear AB 11s. It was well worth the wait. See how nicely the color comes through the beading on the body? Perfect! You will probably have to put up with some whining when I get to the one jillion legs (not all are showing on this photo). I tried using the scanner but the squid squashed looked like nothing at all so I plopped it on the corner of my letter rack. It seems to be smiling for the picture! This is certainly a picture of my face today!

Still stars but with a lot more color! I had forgotten how I love doing these. The colors, and their combinations, feed something very deep within me. I must have some need to share them. In my baby book my Mother wrote that when I was four I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up. My answer: To show the whole world the rainbow in my heart. When I make these I feel I am coming closest to that goal.
Vicki did deliver the order and even the three pounds of white beads does not move me to stop these. Will do a few more before I go back to the animals. I got an Etsy order for a lizard bracelet. Will check on the weekend to see if it is still at CHAC. If not, I will be making a lizard bracelet before I get back on track.
PS From the photo you can see at what point I glue the backs on the pins. Everything up to this stage is done on a single piece of Ultra-suede. When I get to the points of the stars I glue the cardboard stiffening and the back piece of Ultra-suede with the pin back set inside. True one cannot get the needle up and down through the work any more but the grade of Ultra-suede I use (upholstery) is thick enough and the glue is not placed in the points so I can slide the needle along the cardboard.

This is probably not the last photo of stars you will have to look at for a few weeks but I will give your eyes a rest. When I got these closed and with crystals and hanger added I cleared the mess away to starte on this necklace which I had been putting off finishing since last winter. It is always hard for me to completely stop a series. I often leave the last one unfinished with the hope that I will return with new and better ideas later.

It felt so good to be doing one of these again. There is so much potential in them. I really enjoy watching things come to my hands asking to be in the necklace. Perhaps the fact that The Dolphin in Gualala sold two of them last month will get me back to doing them.

With that done far too quickly, I started on the star pins. I have about ten of these cut out and ready to go. It could be the new Preciosa beads, and their gorgeous colors will keep me going on these.


However Vicki called that the new order is in and she will bring it when she and Tom bring the new display case she and I bought for CHAC. We will store it here until the gallery is ready for it.

I forgot to show you the official portraits of Wally, Gualala's walrus. The sun shone, the clouds were small and here he is. Seeing these photos makes me eager to leave the stars to God and get back to beading animals. Vicki did send in the Fire Mountain order early so by the middle of next week I I should have the beads I need for the next three animals - those clear AB clear 11 seed beads.

So the stars appear in the midnight of my beading tray. You can see the pink one and the gold Delicas not yet assembled - that is job for daylight and sunshine at that. I had always thought 8s were too big to use on the stars, but on a Saturday afternoon whim I decided to try them. Not bad. Not bad at all. And this change certainly gives the customer a bigger star for the time spent. Compare with the larger star in the middle that took 15 hours to make. I was so eager to see the star made with 8s that I started sewing the diamonds together as each was made (as you can see in the left-hand corner). When I got to the last diamond I was missing nine beads. So today I will cut that  experiment apart and do a star with different colors on each side.Who knows were this problem will lead me. . .