After getting the final rejection from "Beaded Earth" I decided to enter the BeadDreams contest which closes on April 5. Here there was an entry fee of $30 for two entries so I added the "Dragonfly in Amber" necklace to get my money's worth. After just having the snowman rejected it was not easy to toss in money into the gamble in addition to the two month's work and several bead orders, but I still feel it is a good work and just needs someone to recognize it.

I must say the web submission form by BeadDreams was very well made, and very easy to use. They ask for a lot of information, including techniques and materials, but at least I did not have to type in all those Fire Mountain item numbers. The reason I did not enter the necklace in the Fire Mountain contest was because the amber was from Germany, the bead was made by someone not selling through FM and the lampwork beads were made by Debbe and also not a FM product. That is over 50% of the necklace. At least I have found a place to enter it in a contest. I love the idea of a dragonFLY in amber! Wish me luck! This feels so much like gambling! I wish I enjoyed it more.

In an attempt to find a new project I dipped into the April / May issue of Beadwork to find this. I simply could not get it to work by following the instructions, so I struck out on my own and figured out two ways to get something similar. All in all I found it very fiddly with at least ten attempts and samples to find bead sizes that worked together. The end result is very delicate and lacy - far too fussy the kind of women I normally hope to adorn. Looking at the necklaces I want to be a rebel and make something huge and gunky!

Got the official notice from the folks at the Beaded Earth Contest that I did not make the finalist list. Hmmmm. Again I am unable to work with the Interweave Inc. I guess we are not on the same wave-length.

I do not know if this photo is better, but I did find the chunk of crystal I was looking for; it was in the cupboard where it belonged. Even though the sun was gone I did get this shot. The Internet is working again, I am less grumpy and am thinking of how I want to redo the vines under the roof.

Ah, after posting this I could see the previous photo was much better! I should have quit when I was ahead. Amazing how the sun perks up the colors!

I had this idea for a "Ship of Dreams" and now that it is done (kinda) I am having trouble engineering how to get the fish to swim with it. I tried this with a crystal and am having a grumpy morning (the Internet provider keeps failing - it is no wonder, we are having one big storm after another) and cannot figure out how to display this better. I was rushed to get this photo between the dark clouds. I have a smaller crystal group that could hold him up but that I cannot find so I am now open to any and all options. The harness to the fish is not really attached so I may have to let him go.

I loved making the little boat and 'decorating' it was great fun.

No message from Beadwork on Friday so I am facing the fact that this piece was not picked as a finalist for the "Beaded Earth" contest.

This is the third time I have entered a contest by Interweave, Inc, and not even gotten to first base. I guess we are not on the same wave length. . . I am wondering why this was not picked, but I guess everyone who has not scored in a contest has this same question on their mind. Still it stings, the way your hands burn after making snowballs without gloves.

Am on new stronger antibiotics so I needed something very simple to bead. Many months ago I had wanted to do some netting and could not figure out how to get it started. The great gals in the advertising dept of Fire Mountain had sent a copy of the Beaders Handbook (because they used my Christmas tree on the back in their ad) and in it I found the way to start a net. It took awhile for my drug-addled brain to figure it out - it would be easier if they used two sizes of beads so the pass-through beads are easy to find - but anyhow I was soon happily netting as if I had my right mind.

Had wanted to make this since it came out last autumn but had miss-placed the square beads. Then when I found them I couldn't find the issue of Beadwork, but finally yesterday I got the two together. My pieces look the flatter than those in the photograph! Still the idea of making a necklace just goes against something inside of me.

I spend most of Sunday afternoon making the top bezel of delicas and then felt it was so fussy so I did the lower one in about an hour with 8s! Still I have no desire to make, or design a necklace to with with either of them. May I should make a bedspread with 15s just to keep me busy and out of the possible contamination of jewelry!

Yesterday all my online time/energy went into sending my submissions off to Fire Mountain for their contest. It took me nearly an hour to type in the item numbers and names of the beads. In addition to the "Great Pumpkin at the Return of the Ghost Mouse," I also sent this necklace because it is a 'jewelry-making' contest and though they kindly have a 'home decor' category, I wanted to send at least one thing someone could wear. I feel this necklace has merit because I did use my invention that stopped the spiral chain from spiraling (I love how it looks in red!) that I showed here last weeek. As far as I know no one else has ever done this stitch so that should help.

Also this work gave me a chance to show off the new origami papers I got in Japan last September. Just looking at the photo you might think the paper beads are fragile but they are not. They have been securely glued, stuffed with wool (it is easier to get a needle through than cotton balls) and then sprayed with several coats of acrylic.

Today I got the confirmation that my entries had been received. Now the waiting begins and I am back to covering fishing lures and more bottles.

Floundering around with no big project in mind, but still having the need to bead, I opened to page 32 in Beadwork to find Kelly Wiese's project "Queen of Diamonds Bracelet." After a couple of wonky squares (will I ever learn to count and stop trusting my cockeyed eyes?) I was able to really enjoy doing this. I was not about to go to the studio in the cold and rain to get the crystals so I used, instead of 11s on the top, as she suggested, 8s with 15s on each side and got enough glitz and glimmer to keep me happy. I love the way this piece acts as a frame so I tried framing a drilled (what are those things called? rezolos? revolizes? - you know what I mean) but I felt the square should be remade one unit smaller on each side (which is why I abandoned that one) to make it fit better. I tried a much smaller diamond square and found a pearl in my bead soup which fit. I made a ring out it. As of this morning I still do not have enough squares of the same size to make a bracelet and I am not sure I even want to make a bracelet.

What I need to do is get online to send in my entries for the Fire Mountain Seedbead Contest. I love being able to do it on -line but I REALLY hate having to enter the item number and name for every bead in the project. There are over 25 in each entry. My dyslexic skills make entering numbers a real game of chance. I often wonder if any one really reads them all and checks whether those numbers go with the description. I think my next contest entry will use only one bead size and kind! There is a challenge!