Social Networking Karma - Your Responses

I have a lot more I'd like to talk about with Social Networking Karma - but your responses to the first post were so wonderful that I need to dedicate this post to you guys and what you said! So from the mouth of my readers:

Dr. Suess Hair Clips

"I absolutely believe in it!! Thats why I do http://dailyhandmadepicks.blogspot.com to feature a cool artisan every day!!! Self promotion does NOTHING if you don't reciprocate! :)" ~ MamasLittleMonkeys

Carnival - Bead Embroidered Cuff

"Your comments are right on. When I opened your ArtFire message this morning that you had featured my cuff, I was delightfully surprised. I've been in a slump lately thinking my work will never be good enough to be noticed and now you've given me a little ray of hope. Thank you so much!" ~ beadsandblooms

Sierra Earrings

"I always feature 4 or 5 artists every Friday on my blog and it's so fun getting the responses from them and my readers too!" ~ Beaded Tail

I just want to finish up with a big thank you to everyone for all the comments you leave on my blog! I've been having a lot of fun working on building traffic to my blog and I really appreciate each and everyone of you who visit and join the discussion :)

Etsy BeadWeavers - Royalty Themed

Every month the Etsy Beadweavers does a challenge - and this month's is all about Royalty! My entry was for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland :)

Go vote! I'm #60 but don't feel like you have to vote for me unless you want to :P

And don't forget to enter in this week's Giveaway!

Mixed Media Project

Now I'm well aware that you guys, my family and friends, are probably looking at the time stamp on this one and going, "Ruthie you dear goober...what on EARTH are you doing up and writing a blog at this time of the morning?" Well, at least some variation of that. The answer is two fold. 1. I've been sleeping weird do to meds anyway. 2. I spent about an hour and a half lying in bed developing this idea in my head and I simply had to get up and draw it out, and then write it out! There will be no rest until I do :P I actually got up and drew it out and then laid in bed for another half an hour or so developing it more in my head!

So what are you looking at? This is going to be a mixed-media piece that's based in cross-stitch. I'll go through and explain what I'm thinking for each of the elements. I did try to label each of the elements so you can decipher my drawings, but you'll need more than that to really know what I'm thinking!

~ First: This will be done on cross-stitch fabric. I don't know what count yet...I'll figure that out as I evaluate the project more. I thought about doing embroidery, but I just don't have the talent/experience for that and I DO have the experience to do this in cross stitch!

~ "To Live is to Create." I love this quote! This is where it all started. I was originally going to do a book mark with the words and then maybe a butterfly (and I still might) but then I started thinking about how it was more appropriate to include crafty type things with this quote. I thought of a couple of elements and next thing I knew it was starting to get too big to be a book mark. That's when my brain jumped to this multi-media piece. (I should mention here that I've always been fascinated with multi-media). For the main quote it will be cross stitch. I'm thinking the words "To," "is," and "to," will be done in a base color like black, and then "Live" and "Create" will be in a rich, vibrant color.

~ Butterfly - Since this was part of my original idea, and I love butterfly's, I wanted to include it! Besides, I've always thought that the butterfly is one of God's most creative and beautiful creations :) I also like how it helps to space the words out.

~ Journal - I'll make this out of construction paper or scrap booking paper. I'll make 3 rectangles (different colors?) and glue them together at the center seam using a toothpick to apply the glue. I'm toying with the idea of using a gel pen to write inspirational words on the inside pages like, "Live, Love, Laugh, Dream, Dance, Dare." Then I'll stitch along the back seam to attach it to the fabric and to create a finished journal look. This is to represent both paper crafts and writing.

~ Flowers - These are to represent all sorts of growing things and the art involved in nourishing them. Don't know what type of flowers I'll use, but something basic :P These will be done in cross stitch.

~ Quilt - I'm going to hand quilt a couple pieces of fabric (no actually batting) together in a 2"x1" square. I'll have a single color for the fabric and then use some fancy thread to quilt it. Tack it down on the corners to the fabric maybe? This is to represent all of the sewing crafts :)

~ Vase - Can't forget the clay and ceramic artists! I'm hoping to have one of my etsy friends to make a half vase with little holes along the edges so I can tack it down. I have a friend here in town who's a clay artist so she's first on my list :)

~ Easel - I'll do the easel in cross stitch and then I'm planning on getting some fabric paint and using toothpicks to make a small impressionist painting out of two or three colors. Yay for all the artists who draw and paint! NOT my specialty - hence - the impressionism :P

~ Bracelet - This IS my specialty :) I'll do bead embroidering to make a band of sorts. I'm thinking I'll put either a very small dichroic cab or a lampwork bead in the center to represent the glass artists. The majority of the bracelet will be completely sewn onto the fabric, but I'm thinking the toggle and the loop that would go around it will be "popping off" of the fabric to add to the 3d effects being created in this piece.

~ Baby Photo and Frame - Having children and raising them is a form of creation as far as I'm concerned! I'm hoping that my brother will let me use a picture of his twin boys. I'll probably get some small pieces of balsa wood to make a small frame, glue the picture to the frame, and then tack the frame down.

~ Guitar - I've always wanted to play guitar so I figured it's the best instrument to use to represent the musical arts! This one will be another cross stitch piece.

~ I'm going to put a plain backing on it and frame it with the same hoop that I make it on. That will add to the crafty/kitschy look. I'm thinking add the backing, tack it down to the back of the hoop using first glue and then some staples to secure it. It's probably going to take two sets of hands to glue it right....and maybe some clothes pins to hold it while it's drying... The outer piece of the hoops I'm going to wrap in ribbon (probably purple) then I'll use the fastener for the hoop to create a ribbon hanger for it and cover it up with a bow or something like that.

I plan on using blues, purples, and greens in jewel tones for the projects (my favorites!) I'll probably put it up for sale, but I'm making it more for me and I'll hang it in my crafty area until it sells, or never sells. At the very least, it'll be a great show piece!

I have a lot of projects that really need to come first, and my bad wrist is acting up, so I don't expect to complete this for at least 6 months. It should take me that long to find the time to do the actual design and assemble all the pieces and do all the cross stitch.

My plan is to see if I can find paper online that is the actual size of cross stitch squares to help me to do the design work. Or maybe they'll carry it in the craft store. There have to be some good tools to do stuff like this. I can use graph paper or my bead program to create a lot of things, but it will be much simpler to create the elements to size since this is as complicated as it is. Then I can create a representation of each element, put some sticky tape on the back, and move the elements around until I'm happy with it. If anyone knows where to find the right type of paper for that, let me know!

Also - if anyone can think of any really important creative things that I should be representing - please give me your ideas!

ACK! I just realized I missed the fiber arts! Like crochet or knitting. Hmmm....I'll make a note that I need to figure out how I want to include those... 

Catching Up Once Again :)

Well everything has been a little sporadic from me lately do to the medication withdrawals and the migraines from 'em...but here are my latest listings from etsy and artfire! Tell me which one is your fav and I'll give you an extra entry into my top commentators contest!

Crafty ADD #25

It's Monday - so it's that time again - time for me to share all the stuff I've been working on this last week! I had a pretty good week craft wise :) Let me share with you...

Crochet

I didn't get quite as much done on this as I would have liked last week, I kinda got caught up in beady things, so I'm resolving to do more this week!

Drawing

That's right - I actually drew something! Now if you ever ask me I'll tell you that drawing and all that "traditional" artsy stuff is entirely NOT me. But... We're doing monthly challenges with one of my groups now (Bittersweets Daily Challenge) and this month's was ACEO's! I've got another idea (in a different medium) up my sleeve but I decided to pull out my pencils and do this as well :)

Jewelry

I re-did and finished my ring for myself! Now I'm excited to get a ring stick so I can start making them for my shop - I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from this!

"Treasures of the Sea." This broach is my entry into the Etsy Bead Weavers Monthly Challenge. It's simple, probably won't win anything, but I had a lot of fun with it :) Hopefully I'll have it listed later today or tomorrow.

Remember that coin I showed you earlier this week? Well I reworked the beading around it. It's a lot tighter and looks much better now! I'll be doing the necklace for it soon :)

This was the first piece I did while lying on my back with a migraine this weekend. See, as long as I'm lying down my migraine stays at a semi-tolerable level, so I decided to figure out a way to bead lying down, and I wanted something easy to start with! I picked up this assortment of beads a few weeks ago, planning on making a necklace like this, and so that's what I worked on as I adjusted to lying down and beading :) Hope to get this one listed soon as well.

Crafty ADD Update #24

I had a very hard time focusing on anything this week! Part of that was going on another short road trip to see my Granny, and part of that was feeling sick, and part of that was....I don't know? Here's what I got done though :)

Crochet

Not much progress on this over the course of the week, but I got a little bit done! I'm kinda stuck on the hat I've been working on. I need to get together with Mom on that one. Not showing anything because I crocheted and tore apart several times.

Jewelry

Almost done with this! I need to get a clasp for it and then it'll be done! Woohoo!

Here's what I've gotten done on the remake of the ring I talked about yesterday! I decided to add a little design to it as well as make it narrower this time around.

This is the start of my challenge piece for the Etsy Bead Weavers Challenge this month :D I'm going to call it "Treasures of the Sea."

Crafty ADD Recap - Weeks 11-20

Yah, yah, yah, I know, I'm a wee bit late in getting this up! Especially since I'll also be posting Crafty ADD #22 today... But you guys still loves me right? lol

Learning from a Defunct Challenge Piece

I originally wasn't planning on entering this months EBW challenge. There has just been so much going on this month and I didn't have any good ideas! Then I came up with a bead weaving idea while I was falling asleep and decided to go for it. I showed a picture of it from Monday in yesterdays post.

I've since decided that this piece is destined to be one of the unfinished ones. I'm not sure if I'll pull it apart to salvage the seed beads or not, but either way it's getting junked. Why? Well, I made the piece by printing up a peace sign and then tracing it onto a piece of fabric. I had a hard time tracing it and knew my tracing was slightly lopsided but I thought I could fix it as I beaded. Um. No.

As I filled in the sides at first I was happy. One side turned out great. I couldn't make the other side look right though. I thought it was still going to work until I started doing the outside circle, and then I knew for certain that it wasn't going to work out!

I'm sad, but I've thought about it and I showed my hubby and we talked about it, and I realized that while this project failed, I've learned from it, and that's a good thing.

On my own I realized that, while I thought this was going to be a relatively simple project, it was a lot more challenging than I initially expected. It was my hubby who pointed out what the problem was/is. It's a geometric shape. I should NOT be trying to do a geometric shape in bead embroidery. Brick stitch, peyote, sure. Embroidery, no. Maybe someday I'll have enough talent and experience, but not now! It's much trickier than it looks.

Lesson learned - moving on! And I'm looking forward to showing you all the wonderful pieces my team mates made, I don't know how I'm going to choose one!

Crafty ADD Update #17 (totally late)

Ok - so normally I do my crafty ADD posts earlier in the week - but I kinda got eaten by the migraine monsters earlier this week - so these pictures are from the previous week up until Monday night. I've made stuff since then! LOL

Paper Craft

Say what??? Paper craft? Ruthie? (Edi are you proud?) That's right - there are a few paper crafts that I occasionally do! Despite the fact that I can barely cut in a straight line... Any way... I learned how to make these stars while I was a day care teacher (that feels like another life time) and I made this one to take over to my parents house for Thanksgiving Dinner :)

Ok - so this one is no big deal - but I've kinda gotten in the habit of taking pictures of anything I create! Paul is Mo's older brother and his b-day is the day after Thanksgiving. We got together at their parents house on Monday for a bday party for the two of us (mine was last week too) and Mo and I bought a bunch of coffee for Paul. I didn't want to give him just a plain brown bag - so I decorated it!

Oh yes, and I have a fresh batch of construction paper from last week - be afraid, be very afraid.

Cross Stitch

I thought I'd get a shot of the three book marks all cut out and finished :D I need to get them listed... No good being done if not listed eh?

Knitting

Ok - the way I laid that out makes it look like a pair of pants - but the black scarf is done! It ended up 6ft 2 inches. Just a wee bit over my planned length. I got a little too into it the last time I sat down to knit :P

And on the next scarf! Yes, I'm crazy, but I'm getting faster! Can you tell? The first 13 inches were accomplised at the bazaar and then at the bday party. Wait until you see the next update...I've come a long way since Monday :D

Jewelry

Here's a few random things I made up last Saturday/Sunday. I had an insomniac night and I did a whole bunch of stuff, including the above collection. Bracelet, 3 pairs of earrings, and a charm. Which is kinda funny cuz I sat down planning on making several bracelets and only made one and a bunch of other small stuff!

This is my current bead embroidery project. It's a peace sign! It'll be for the current Etsy Bead Weavers challenge assuming I finish it in time. Again, these pictures are from Monday - so I've made progress since then and it's looking good :)

This is the back of the peace sign. It amused me. Looks kinda like a rustic broom design...

Mom's Birthday Present

If you've talked to me at all this week - then you know I'v been working furiously on my Mom's birthday present for the latter half of the week! Which is what happens when I work on it at the last minute... Not to mention it's a bead embroidery piece and I still find those challenging!

I took a couple of quick snap shots before I gave it to her. Not perfect, but my borther is going to bring it back over this week for a good photo shoot :)

The Top

The Back

I'm thinking next time I do something like this I should take more "along the way" pictures so I can give you a better idea of what's involved... There are a lot of steps! First you have to secure the cabochon to the material with glue. Which is really only a temporary hold. Then you bead around the cabochon and up the sides to truly secure it. Then you do the embroidery all around it to fill out whatever pattern/shape you desire. Then you glue all of that to a piece of ultra suede backing material and let that dry. Then you go around the edges with more beads. THEN, in this case at least, you glue it to the hair barrette!

I didn't get any pictures of me actually giving it to Mom, but I got my brother to snap a shot of it in her hair for me :)

Mom

What do you think? Should I make one or two for my shops? I might just at some point...but honestly...I have a LONG list of things I want to make...so it'll depend on when and what inspiration hits!

Crafty ADD Update #6 And More!

It hasn't been as productive a week for me as it usually is. First I was dealing with the kidney stones (I think thats over), and that slowed me down a lot! Then I got some bad news this weekend, and for once, I didn't feel like crafting! But you know what? That's ok! Sometimes we need to just rest and rejuvinate :) I'm feeling ready to tackle this week now and ready to work on a lot of projects, old and new! So let me tell you about them :D

Crochet

I'm on to the 6th row out of 9 for my first ever baby blanket! I'm too the point where I've already put together all the squares I had premade so now I'm making a square, adding it, making another, and adding it! It's not really as uneven as it looks in the photograph, I just didn't take the time to straighten it properly.

This blanket is being put in the closet for awhile though. I wasn't making it for anyone in specific (I'm going to donate it), and now I have a cousin to make a baby blanket for! Speaking of which...

I thought I'd have at least a few squares to show you by this update, but all I have is my new hook! Mom and I got together to work on the new one, and quickly discovered that the blanket I was planning on creating is too hard at my level of ability with the yarn I had bought. The disadvantage of having someone who's a master at crocheting (at least I consider her so), is that she sometimes forgets how things look or work for a beginner! So it didn't occur to either of us tha the shiney thread running through the yarn would make it harder for me to work with. The end decision was to keep the yarn (it's pretty!) but use the pattern for granny squares that I originally learned so that it will be easier for me. That's when we decided that a different size hok would also be helpful...and between one thing or another it's taken 4 days for me to get one! Just picked it up this afternoon, and believe me, I can't wait to make that first square!

Cross-Stitch

For some reason one of the few projects I was remotely interested in this week was my cross stitch - as a result, it's almost done! I just have to finish the border and then I get to pick a third book mark to make on this canvas :) Don't know what I'm going to do but I'm considering creating a new pattern...I have a few ideas. We'll see if I get to it this week or not!

Jewelry

As you can see, I didn't make it very far on my project with my first cabochon. It's going to be attached to a free form peyote weave bracelet, and I have a hard time doing something that has no planned pattern! As you can see, my brain forces me to make small patterns out of the chaos. Any way, I just wasn't really in the right mood. Besides, since my Mom's birthday is on Friday it's high time I finally started her birthday present!

That's right, the second Cabochon you see, and the work surrounding it, is the start of what's going to be a hair barret for my Mom. It's going quickly so unless I hit a major snag, I should be done in time! Don't worry - I'll take pictures before I give it to her - and hopefully get a shot with it in her hair at some point too!

Treasuries

I also have to show off the treasuries I'm in right now! I was so excited to find them today! Both are done by team mates from different teams, and they rock! Check 'em out while they are still active :)

The Color of Royalty

Feeling Blue?

Crafty ADD Update #3

Wow - I'm amazed at how much I ended up getting done on my different projects this week! I figured I wouldn't get much done on them because of my HUGS project, but I was wrong! Read on to find out why :)

Knitting

I bought the yarn for this project in case I had a break in my crochet project waiting for Mom to show me the next step. But I really didn't think I'd start it this week! Boy was I wrong! I only had a two day break in between finishing the crochet squares and when Mom and I got together, but during those two days I had two different times where I was out driving around and needed something to do with my hands. Clarification, I wasn't the one driving!

Anyway, yarn projects are much easier to do in the car than anything beady...so the knitting came out! Plus I made myself some little stitch markers for my projects. You can't see them really well in the picture, but that's ok. Why did I make them you ask? Well, I'm not far enough along in my knitting to even know what they are normally used for, but I realized something the other day. My biggest problem with knitting is that it's hard to see what progress I've made. So I have two markers. One that will represent the beginning of a week, and one that will the beginning of the day I'm currently working on :) That way I can SEE how much progress I've made!

Not that I plan on picking it back up until the baby blanket is done though. Speaking of which...

Crochet

I started putting the squares together! Sad thing is that I realized when I took the picture that I messed up the pattern :( So I'm going to have to take a couple squares out and rework them. Oh well. We also discovered that I do NOT have enough squares made up! I don't know how many more I need though. I figured I'd just put together all the one's I have and then start making the rest of them when I get that far :)

I'm finding putting the squares together a lot harder than making the squares. I think it's because I know that I'm much slower at it than I was the squares, and because the weight of the squares pulls on it and makes it harder to keep an even tension. I'm getting better though! Day by day :)

Oh yes, and I really didn't think I'd get this far on the crochet project this week, but we ended up spending several hours over at my inlaws early in the week and I spent the majority of that crocheting! Taking along the HUGS project would have been too awkward. And they are used to me having my hands flying while we chat :)

Cross-Stitch

I finished my penguin book mark! Well, all but cutting it out and putting on the backing. I'm not going to do that until after I sew a couple more bookmarks though because I can maximize the fabric that way. Unless of course someone responds to this post saying they want to buy it, and then I'll cut it out! :D I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the next bookmark...I have a lot of jewelry ideas in my head...so I think I might put it aside for a week to give me more jewelry time.

Jewelry

I can't show you what's on my bead board right now because it's a present and the person might read this post :P But I do want to tell you guys about my bead embroidery project, the final product, and why I was making it!

Like I mentioned before, this is my first ever bead embroidery project. I've been wanting to do one for awhile now...but finding the right inspiration was hard. I've thought about doing something in an ACEO, "Art Cards Editions and Originals," because I'm fascinated by them lately! So I was all primed when this challenge came along.

A crafty friend recently went through a tragedy in her life. Some of us who all know her decided to all create something along the theme of "Hugs and Kiss for...." I knew immediately what I wanted to do! Thus my HUGS project was born.

I spent the majority of the week working on this. I have no idea how many hours went in to it, but I'm guessing 8-10. Yes, I know how to sew, but I've never done any embroidery and certainly no bead embroidery. So I went slow...

I don't really like the backing I put on it. I like the color of the fabric, but I know that for pendants and things most other bead weavers use things like ultra suede. I can see why. The fabric was easy to sew through, but I'm worried that it's going to frey. :( Oh well. It's meant to be displayed, not handled, so it should last pretty good :)

I don't want to give away any personal details, but those of us involved in the project have heard back from the gal we did it for and our goal was accomplished! We were able to cheer and encourage her during this hard time, and that's what we wanted. PLUS, I get to send her the piece I worked so hard on! Which is fantastic, it would have felt wrong going to anyone else.

Feeling Lucky This Week :)

I definitely needed a "pick me up" after moving last week. I was extra tired and sore, and of course we're still in the process of unpacking, so that doesn't help any! It means I always have this feeling that there is something I "should" be doing instead of relaxing and crafting :P Not to mention there's always the "so where DID that end up?" Fortunately we have the majority of it done by now and there are only a few boxes and the pictures left! Woohoo!

Anyway, I received lots of goodies this week! So that definitely helped balance out the exhaustion and stress from the move :) First thing I received was some really cute charms from Athena Workman. I won these in a blog contest and my picture here does NOT do them justice. I was just snapping quick shots last night so I could blog...and apparently these ended up really washed out :( And yes, I'm too lazy this morning to go take new one's :P It's only 7am here after all folks! Anyway, I'm really looking forward to using these in my jewelry design. They will sit on my table in full view until I come up with the perfect design to use them in :D

I also won a blog contest from my friend Meri - my featured artist from yesterday! Isn't this earring cute??? I love it! Can't wait to wear it :) I told her my fav colors and told her to play...and play she did...and I love it! Good thing I own a lot of purple clothes huh?

Last, but certainly not least, I woke up yesterday morning to find this chain mail ball sitting on top of my closed lap top! My hubby had seen a book on chain mail while we were at the craft store, asked me if I had an links, and then asked if he could play with them! I didn't really expect much to come out of it, but he's a night owl so how was I to know? Apparently he found this design on-line and he spent a good long time making it! I was so thrilled! I attached it to the little lanyard and it's not going everywhere with me on my purse. And the fun part? He wants me to order more rings for him to play with! Who knows what he'll come up with next?

And time for a little shameless self-promotion *wink* Here's some of the items I've been promoting this last week - tell me your favorite for an extra entry in my Top Commentators Contest!

Oh yes, and for those who've been following my "bead embroidery adventure," the piece is finished, I just need to get proper photos. I'll blog about it before the day is over. Have no fear! Besides...this post is long enough :P

Good Morning World!

So all my dear creative friends - what are your plans for today? I am going to be in a crafty frenzy to finish my bead embroidery project. It's SO CLOSE but I have to finish it TODAY. After it's done there will be pictures and an explanation - don't worry! I've had a lot of fun working on this project. It's my first ever in bead embroidery and I have many more already crowding around in my head!

Other than that - I have to run some errands today. It's time for me and the hubby to get updated drivers licenses (now that we've moved) and I need to go to the craft store. Not that I object to needing to go to the craft store! As I'm sure you can guess, it's one of my favorite places to be! I need to pick up something to back my bead embroidery project with. And a few more supplies while we're at it. Actually...I think I'm going to drag my poor hubby both to the craft store AND the bead store! *wicked grin*

All in all - it's a busy day ahead of me!

Crafty ADD Update #2

I know, I was PLANNING on posting this last night, but I was just to lethargic and blah to do it. So I'm doing it this morning instead :)

KNITTING

Ok, so I didn't actually do any knitting this week, but I made a purchase! I'm getting close to the point where I'm going to need Mom's help on my crochet project, and I wanted to make sure I have something to work on if it takes us awhile to get together. So I went out and bought the yarn for my next scarf! I know, black can be boring, but it's a guy's Christmas present, and he looks good in black :) I also bought my very own knitting needles so I can give Mom her's back - and they are purple!

CROCHET

Like I said - I'm getting pretty far on my baby blanket! I'm now onto the third color in the blanket, and when this one is done, I'll be laying it all out and learning how to put the pieces together! I'm excited! If I keep up the pace I've been going I'll have the third color finished this week. Not sure that will happen at the moment though (explain later).

CROSS-STITCH

I'm so close! You can't really tell from this picture, but the tummies on the penguins are filled in with white thread...and I need to finish the tummy on the third penguin still. I also need to add a border... not sure I'll be working on this project much this week though.

JEWELRY

I'm doing something new! It's called bead embroidery - and I'm having fun! This is the main reason I'm not sure how far I'll get on my other projects this week. I'm making this for something in particular and so I'm on a dead-line. So everything else comes second! I'll be blogging more about this piece when it's done. I also have a custom order to do and I need to make some more bracelets to go into my consignment shop...

And I need to finish unpacking :P

Friday's Featured Artist - Smadars Treasure

I'd like to introduce you all to a very talented bead weaver that I've had the pleasure of getting to know! I contacted her awhile ago with a question - and that conversation turned into a friendship that eventually led to me joining the Etsy Bead Weavers! There's so much more I could say - but I'll let her work and her words speak for themselves :)

1. What type of art work do you do?

I create jewelry, focusing on beadweaving and embroidery, but I also like designing other jewelry with assembled components and wire-work.

2. How did you get started

doing art work?

In 2004 I attended a beading workshop – simple stringing – and I realized that creating with beads was very relaxing for me. I continued beading for a few more months until I discovered the fascinating world of bead weaving.

3. Do you do any other crafts?

Ever since I was a child I liked crafting – painting,

knitting, scrapbooking, wood engraving and sculpting, but what I really love is drawing. Beadweaving took over my spare time (and my Muse) and I sometime miss drawing … This is my last drawing, from about two years ago, of an old Indian woman by a photograph of one of my most favorite photographer Wendell Phillips (please see the images at the bottom)

4. What's your favorite piece in your shop right now?

Note - I did ask her this question - but I'm thinking it must have sold because I can no longer find it! Congrats on the sale Smadar!

5. Where do you sell your work?

Most of my work can be found in my Etsy shop www.smadarstreasure.etsy.com

but I also have a shop on Artfire www.smadarstreasure.artfire.com and another one on Dawanda , where you can find my assembled jewelry. http://en.dawanda.com/shop/SmadarsTreasure

6. Do you blog?

Yes, I do have a blog http://smadarstreasure.blogspot.com . I wish I could post more often, but there's never enough time… I try to update my blog everytime I have a new work finished.

7. Are you on any social networks you'd like to share?

Not long ago I have joined Facebook, which is fun and lets you make new beady friends from all over the world. I am also proud to be a member of two beading groups – the Etsy BeadWeavers (EBW) and the Bead Art Originals (BAO) group.

8. Do you watch or listen to anything while you work? If so, what?

Sometimes I listen to a local radio station that broadcast non-stop music, but I prefer working in a quiet environment. That's why I usually bead at late night hours, when everyone in my family is sleeping.

9. Tell us one random fact about your self *wink*

I think I am a compulsive collector. :) Until I discovered beading, and to the resentment of my family, I used to collect many kinds of what people would call "junk", like boxes, pieces of wood, wrapping papers etc. in order to create something beautiful out of them. I now have tons of "materials" in my working room, waiting patiently to be reused. I stopped collecting junk materials, but now I am collecting beading supplies of all kinds..;)

The picture on the left goes with the link and is the picture she was working from as mentioned in question #3 :)

http://www.wendellphillips.com/india/05.asp