Focusing on Life - 34 of 52

This week, Sally asked us to "add something" to our photos.  She wanted us to use editing programs to add filters or effects to our photos.

It took a while for me to find a picture to play with, but when I came across this sunflower, I knew it would be perfect.

It is a little over exposed, so I decided  to add a bit of vibrance.

Then I decided to subtract some saturation.

Finally, I decided to add a bit of the yellow back in.

Please take a look at Sally's blog to see what the other participants added to their photos.

Focusing on Life - 33 of 52

This week, Sally asked us to find something in season.

Luckily, I had the perfect subjects --

this purple pepper

and this gorgeous plum.

Sally is still having technical difficulty with her blog.  You can check what the other participants found below.

Sale over at Sharyl's Jewelry

My friend Sharyl, from Sharyl's Jewelry, is a wonderful jewelry designer, wireworker, metal smith and more.

She creates fun and unique pieces using artbeads from her favorite artists.

She also participates in the monthly Art Bead Scene challenges.  This piece, titled Sleeping Beauty in Snow is from the December 2012 challenge.

The necklace, for sale in Sharyl's artfire store, features beads from Natalie Pappas.  (You can find more of Natalie's beads in her etsy shop.)

You can see Sharyl's most recent challenge piece here on her blog.  Because I love it so much, though, I will give you a sneak peek.  This features beads from Natalie and from Serena Thomas.

Because I can't resist, I will also show you these Jellyfish Teal Glass earrings, also in Sharyl's shop.

These earrings build on lampwork beads from Russ Powers of Javabead.

In addition to jewelry, Sharyl also sells handmade (by her) components in her shop.

I love these copper dangles.

Sharyl added a patina to these copper circles which gives them an "earthy" feel.

I saved the best news for last.  Sharyl is having a sale in her artfire store.  Hop over and receive 20% off with the code SCHOOL20.  I know you will find a few things you can't live without.

If you would like to see more of Sharyl's work, you can follow her blog or like her on facebook.

Focusing on Life - 32 of 52

This week, Sally asked us to look where we stand.

This was a hard one for me.  Then, today, I took the kiddo for her second "real" pedicure and she insisted that I take a picture of her cute little toes.

Where I stand?

It's a great place to be.  :)

Sally is having a bit of technical difficulty this week, but she sent all of us the linkz code.  Please visit the other participants, below, to see where they stood this week.

Focusing on Life - 31 of 52

For week 31, Sally asked us to look for the color blue.

The kiddo was gracious enough to let me borrow her crayons.

She loved finding blue crayons for me and insisted that the glitter crayons (in front) were the best.

I can't resist adding this photo from our Chicago vacation, taken at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

I was excited to get a nice photo of this little blue bird.

Please check Sally's blog to see the hues of blue the other participants found.

Focusing on Life - 30 of 52

I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm a few weeks behind and will be playing catch up this week.

For week 30, Sally asked us to find the sun.

That week, we took a family vacation to Chicago and, oh boy, did we find the sun!  It was very hot the first few days, but that didn't stop us.

The first day, I took the kiddo on the biggest ferris wheel I had ever seen.

The kiddo's reaction to the ride:  "it was boring."  This girl was born for roller coasters.

We visited the Lincoln Park Zoo and found this guy basking in the warm sun.

I took this picture outside of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

It seemed the perfect "sunny" photo.

Please check Sally's blog to see what the other participants found in the sunlight.

Update on my Bead and Button Challenges

In June, I mentioned that I took on a few challenges during the Bead and Button show.

First was the Swarovski challenge.  Beaders gathered Swarovski crystals from different vendors and then combined the disparate beads into a piece of jewelry.

The winner of the challenge was Laura Luepke, from The Verdant Edge.  I had the good fortune to meet Laura during one of my classes and see her beadwork first hand.  She does amazing work.  Her etsy shop is full of gorgeous pieces (and she even has an earring tutorial available.)

You can see Laura's bracelet (and some in progress pictures) here on her blog.  Seriously, go take a look.  The bracelet is gorgeous and definitely deserved to win.

Swarovski sent her $500 of crystals beads and components.  If you want to see the entire lot, Laura posted a photo on her facebook page.

Swarovski was generous to the rest of the participants, also, and sent each of us a small gift bag -- all the way from Austria!

The bag contained crystals, makings for a few pendants and a Swarovski color chart.

Thank you, Swarovski!

My next challenge was the Bead and Button Bead Soup, sponsored by Kalmbach Publishing.  Each beader brought a "soup" consisting of a focal, clasp and coordinating beads.  The soups were mixed in a big crock pot and each beader picked a soup.

This was a really fun event and all the beaders were beyond thrilled with their soups.  Here's hoping this could be an annual event (hint, hint).

First place went to Marcia Balonis.  I have been a fan of Marcia for years.  I love her designs and have several of her patterns.  You can find her patterns on her website or in her etsy shop.

Marcia's necklace was a beautiful piece that used wire crochet to blend her soup beautifully.  You can see Marcia's necklace, all the soups and the participants' creations on Kalmbach's facebook page.

As excited as I was to see Marcia's name in first place, I was beyond thrilled to see that I had won second place (and a gift certificate to the Kalmbach store)!

Thank you Kalmbach!