Wonky Bead Blog Hop

Kristi Bowman creates beautiful clay and metal clay components.  Her style is earthy, fun and unique.  She achieves these awesome textures and shapes in her beads that I could never imagine.

About a month ago, Kristi decided to host a wonky bead blog hop.  She created different shapes and sizes of beads sets and invited her readers to create something amazing with them.

I ordered the red set of beads.

This is Kristi's photo.  I forgot to take a picture of my beads when they arrived because I was so excited to play with them.  My strand is the 3rd from the left (the one with the red disc and the blue cylinder bead).

I knew right away that I wanted to use the black beads in earrings.  I wasn't sure how, though.  After sifting through my beads, I found the perfect match -- a few clay beads from Staci Louise and two head pins from Nancy Schindler.

I thought the green and black needed a lighter color, so I added spacer beads from Genea.

These earrings are not for the faint of heart, but I adore them!  Along with Kristi, the ladies represented are some of my favorite artists.  Check out their shops: Staci's shop, Nancy's shop and Genea's shop.

I wanted to use the other beads in a bracelet.  I paired Kristi's beads with a beaded bead from Malin de Koning and a beaded bead I made from this pattern by Heather Collin.

Malin's beaded beads are perfect in so many ways.  I love how the shape and texture of Malin's bead works with the clay beads.  Take a few minutes to visit Malin's store to see all of her beaded beads and her jewelry.

I know you've heard me talk about Heather's patterns before, but I'll say it again, I love Heather's designs.  You can find more in her shop.

I've been on a chain maille kick lately, thanks to Rebeca Mojica of Blue Buddha Boutique.  To finish my bracelet, I used Rebeca's "On the Edge" bracelet pattern, featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Wirework.  (This pattern is also sold on Blue Buddha's site as "Zeela.")

I added an ammonia patina to the larger rings.  The patina just happened to match both my beaded bead and Kristi's clay bead.

I strung the beads on a bit of leather and knotted between them.  A handmade s clasp rounds out the bracelet.

I really had fun with these beads.  The blue cylinder bead is still sitting on my desk, staring at me, a little sad to be left out.  I'll find a home for him, though.

Kristi, thank you for such a fun blog hop.  If you want to buy some wonky beads of your own, check out Kristi's store.

Please visit Krist's blog to see what the other participants did with their wonky beads.  Or you can check out the links below.

Focusing on Life - 36 of 52

This week, Sally asked us to look for pairs.

I thought of a pair of tennis shoes, but thought that photo worked better for last week's challenge.

Instead, I thought I would dig out an older picture.

My favorite pair!

Please take a look at Sally's blog to see other wonderful pairs.

Paleo Protein Cookies

I've been playing around with this recipe.  I made a chocolate version and it turned out beautifully.  (That is coming as soon as I get decent photos.)

With bars and brownies out of the way, I had to try cookies.

Keep in mind, these are a treat (and sometimes a good breakfast on the go).  They freeze really well and I don't mind letting the kiddo have a few for dessert.  :)

The cookies made with vanilla protein powder produced a delicious chocolate chip cookie.  The texture was very close to "flour" cookies.  At least, I think so.  (I haven't eaten a wheat flour cookie in ages, though, so I might be mis-remembering.)

I used these chocolate chips which, while not really paleo, are a nice treat.  (I also used about half the amount I typically do for cookies).

The cookies made with chocolate protein powder were just as yummy.  I added chopped cherries to the mix (cherries and chopped walnuts/pecans would be delicious also).

The only thing I don't like about this recipe is that I use both the food processor and the mixer.  The two combined create more dishes than I really want to wash.  However, the results are worth it.

Be warned, also, the batter/dough is really wet and almost a cross between cake batter and cookie dough.  My "before photos" didn't turn out, so I can't show you, but don't be worried.  They bake up wonderfully.

Protein Cookies

(makes about 3 1/2 dozen)

1 cup pecans
1 cup walnuts

one 8 oz bag of dates
1/2 cup almond flour

1 and 1/2 cup whey protein powder (I use Mark Sisson's Primal Fuel)

1 and 1/2 stick (3/4 cup) butter, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

4 oz (or a half of a bag) chocolate chips OR 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chopped cherries

Preheat the oven to 325 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts and pecans until they are the consistency of coarse crumbs.  Add in the almond flour and protein powder.  Pulse again to mix well.  Add the dates and pulse again.

In a separate bowl (a standing mixer works great for this), cream the butter with about 1/2 cup of the nut mixture.  After the butter is creamed, mix in the eggs and vanilla.  Add the rest of the nut mixture and mix well.  Finally, add in the chocolate chips or chopped cherries and mix until just combined.

The batter will look like a really wet cookie dough, or something between a cake batter and cookie dough.

Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, drop about a tablespoon of dough per cookie onto the parchment lined cookie sheet.  These spread a bit, so leave some room.

Bake at 325 for 11 minutes.

These cookies do not brown, so they will not look "done."  Also, stir the batter before starting a new sheet of cookies.  

Focusing on Life - 35 of 52

For week 35, Sally asked us to focus on growth and change.

This was another hard one for me.

The kiddo started first grade this year -- and is now at school for a full day.  This is a big change for her.  She is tired in the afternoon and doesn't have as much "play" time as she did.

It's also a change for me.  I now have almost seven hours to myself every day.  What to do with all that time?

My mother said she would clean the house.  I seriously thought she was kidding.  Clean the house?  Maybe for an hour, but not all day.

I tried sitting around all day and beading or watching tv, but that gets boring in a hurry.

Finally, I decided to try something new -- running.

So, I always said that "I don't run."  What I really meant was, "I don't like to run because I can't run for more than a few seconds."  I have allergies and asthma, neither of which is conducive to running long distances.

I started reading about Zombies, Run! and thought, "this might be fun."  I downloaded the 5k  training app and went for a run walk with some jogging sprinkled in.

I was a bit discouraged that first day, but I am getting better and can run for almost 3 minutes without stopping!

More than that, though, I am looking forward to getting outside and running a bit.  This might have more to do with me wanting to play more missions on the app, but, hey, anything that works, right?

Please check out Sally's blog to see how the other participants interpreted their growth this week.

2nd Annual Challenge of Travel

The wonderful Miss Erin is at it again.  Last year's Challenge of Travel was wonderful and we were all able to visit other places from the comfort of our own computers.  (You can see my entry here.)

This year, Erin changed it up on us.  She asked us to vacation at home.  Instead of researching a new city or country, we were to find new and exciting things in our own back yards.

Now, I live in the midwest -- in Kansas.  I have yet to meet someone who likes Kansas enough to vacation there.

I do, however, live in a suburb of Kansas City, which is a much bigger and more interesting town.

Most people think of barbecue when they think of Kansas City.  It's true -- visitors have their choice of amazing barbecue here.  You can sample Gates, Arthur Bryant's, Oklahoma Joe's or Jack Stack and debate with the locals about which is better.

(For the record, my husband prefers Jack Stack while I am an Oklahoma Joe's girl.)

People don't know about the theater in Kansas City.  You can find the Lyric Opera, the Music Hall, the Unicorn Theater, the Starlight Theater, the American Heartland Theater, and the Kansas City Rep (that shows a great version of A Christmas Carol every year).

My favorite, though, is the Quality Hill Playhouse.  Quality Hill is a small theater.  The shows are musicals, generally featuring a wide variety of well known and little known music fitting a specific theme.  The host, J. Kent Barnhart is a wonderful talent in his own right and his one man biographical show is still one of the best I've seen.

Now that we have the kiddo, we have been attending the children's Coterie Theater a bit more.  :)

After the kiddo was born, we took advantage of the kid friendly sites of Kansas city.  We visited the Kansas City Zoo several times a month.

We walked around the Overland Park Arboretum and Powell Gardens.  (Most of the non-jewelry photos on this blog are taken on one of these two places.)

During the winter, we visited Science City in Union Station.

For this challenge, I tried to find a new aspect of Kansas City.

Did you know that Kansas City was the City of Fountains?  I kind of did, but had no idea the scope.  There are fountains all over the city and in many of the surrounding area.  I couldn't visit all of them, but decided to take a walking tour around the Plaza.

When I first moved here, I spent a great deal of time on the Plaza, but I never noticed the architecture or the abundance of fountains.  It was fun to spend time "getting to know" the Plaza a little better.

The first fountain you will see upon entering the Plaza is the JC Nichols Memorial fountain.

It is even more impressive at night.

Here is a close up of one of the horses and his rider.

Neptune is my favorite.

This organ grinder is not a fountain, but I still thought the statue was cute.

After my walking tour, I decided to create something inspired by fountains.

I started with this pendant from Nancy Schindler of Round Rabbit. It looked so much like the scrolling detail on a fountain that I just "had" to use it.

I wanted to create a weathered chain.  Using the Persian Variations instructions from Blue Buddha, I created two chains of a rippled half persian 4-in-1.  Then, I left the the chains in an ammonia patina for a few days.

Perfect!

(If you are interested in chain maille, Blue Buddha is a great place to start.  I loved the Persian Variations instructions and would recommend it.  You do need to know how to do the basic Persian and half Persian weaves, though, before starting these.)

I then created a peyote spiral piece to link the chins together.

I used larger jumprings to join the pieces together and decorated them with stray seed beads.

Here is the finished product.  I really like it, but after completing it, I wondered if the pendant was too much.

Here it is without the pendant.  What do you think?

While the chains were soaking in their ammonia bath, I decided to create a bracelet.  I bounced between a few patterns and then remembered this pattern by Heather Collin.

Heather's "Crossing Over" bracelet was perfect because the strands of beads were moving in and out and over and under, like water in a fountain.

To mirror the stone base of a fountain, I used tan and off white beads for the base of the bracelet.  The blue beads shoot out from the base like water moving up from the fountain.

Heather's designs are a joy to bead and always produce something beautiful.  You can find more of Heather's designs in her etsy shop.

I was really pleased with the final product -- it looks so lush and opulent.

Erin, thank you for another wonderful challenge.  It was fun and I loved trying a few new things.

Please take a few minutes (or hours) to visit Erin's blog and learn about the home towns of the other participants.  You may even get the hankerin' to visit some of them.  :)

Lorelei's second Michaels challenge

Lorelei Eurto has a knack for finding, and having a vision for, beads that I would normally pass over.  Case in point:  her first Michaels challenge.  I would have not looked twice at those resin sliders, but wow, am I glad that Lorelei did.

This time around, Lorelei found several different types of beads and asked her readers to show her what we could do with them.

I dove into the challenge without really having a plan.

However, the brown disc beads were calling my name.  I remembered a design from Cindy Holsclaw and decided to try it with the disc beads.  Cindy's Squared Circles Beaded Bead was perfect.

Cindy has more wonderful patterns for sale on her website, Bead Origami.  You can also see her newest designs on her blog.

I had my focal beads, but needed to put them together with the other beads.  After a bit of experimentation (okay, quite a bit of experimentation), I came up with this.

I found a few rectangle beads in my stash (also from Michaels) and thought they matched the rustic nature of the beaded beads.  I wanted to use a bit of leather, so I added a few embellishments to mirror the design on the rectangle beads.

I really like this necklace.  I would never have put these beads together, but I really like how they look.  I am a bit sad that I didn't use the white beads, but I'll save those for the next challenge.

The first time I wore this necklace, I received so many compliments.  Everyone especially loved the owl button, something I would never have added on my own.  Thank you, Lorelei.

Please take a few minutes to visit Lorelei's blog to see what the other participants did with these beads.  I know you won't be disappointed.

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.