Slowly But Surely

I have made some progress on the beaded heart charms for my bracelet. I haven't been able to work on it as much as I have wanted to, but I pick it up and so some beading whenever I have a few spare minutes.

The weather here has been beautiful lately (knock on wood). Today it has been extremely mild - I love it! As I type this, it is only 81 degrees at 1:15 in the afternoon. I know that when school starts after Labor Day it will be HOT - it always is.

Saturday was my birthday and my family & I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at my favorite local Japanese restaurant. It was so amazing to see my 3-year-old nephew gobble up the miso soup and the rest of his dinner! I don't know many kids who would actually care for the taste, but he loves it. After each spoonful he would say "ahhhh". He especially likes the pieces of tofu. It was so cute. He is such a little foodie! My 9-year-old nephew would have none of the miso soup but absolutely loves the teriyaki sauce, especially on his rice! We had a nice dinner and then went back to my brother and SIL's house for rum cake from my favorite Italian bakery (which is right in their neighborhood) and coffee. It was a quiet day, but the evening was fun and I always look forward to the times we get to spend together.

I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of their summer. It's hard to believe that it's almost over, although I know of at least one mom who will be so glad when school starts again! I always laugh when they show the commercial where families are shopping for back-to-school supplies and the song playing in the background is "...the most wonderful time of the year!" whose title escapes me but I know it's actually a Christmas song. Very funny.

Beaded Bracelet in Progress!

I've been working on making these beaded heart charms for a bracelet that was designed by Julie Ann Smith (http://www.angelamps.net/) who is an extremely talented lady. I was so excited to find the pattern, after having seen a woman wearing one she had made at San Gabriel Bead Co. on Wednesday. I had gone out there to get some jewelry supplies and while perusing the Swarovski crystals, a customer came up and started chatting with the lady who was helping me. We were admiring the beaded jewelry she was wearing that she had made and I especially noticed the bracelet she had on. When I got home, I googled a few search terms and actually found the bracelet! I couldn't believe it. I actually found it through a really net website called "Bead-Patterns The Magazine" (http://www.bead-patternsmag.com/catalog/) where you can purchase patterns. I then googled the artist and found her website. Wow, is she talented. She not only designs beading patterns, but makes beautiful lampwork beads, is an artist, and even designs fabric! You should check out her website.

The pattern calls for Delica beads, which I don't have too many of, so I ordered the colors I need for this bracelet. I have LOTS of seed beads, so I decided to try making up a bracelet with those, since I won't receive the Delicas until probably Tuesday or Wednesday and I didn't want to wait that long to get started! I went through my stash of seed beads and picked out the colors I liked and got my supplies together. I love the bright, happy colors of the hearts and especially the cute black and white "checkerboard" border. I started working on the beaded hearts yesterday and so far I've got 7 done and have just started working on the 8th. Seed beads are more time-consuming to work with, as they are not perfectly-shaped and sized like Delicas, however I do like the effect with them. The bracelet calls for 11 hearts in total. I should hopefully have them done by this evening, since I have the entire day free to bead (yay!!!) and then will begin working on making up the crystal charms and picking out some chain for the bracelet. I'll keep you posted with my progress. This is one bracelet that I know I will wear all the time, as I love hearts and crystals!